ONGC to invest Rs 1,200 cr for captive wind energy

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), the country's leading oil and gas exploration and production company, is entering the alternative energy segment with a Rs 1,200 crore-plus (Rs 12 billion) investment to generate 200 mw of wind power for captive use, within two years.

The company has already placed orders with the Pune-based Suzlon Energy, the world's fifth-largest producer of wind mills, for 50 mw of wind turbine capacity to be installed in Gujarat's Kutch region.

"We have placed orders for 50 mw and will soon install another 50 mw in Karnataka. Within the next year, ONGC will add another 100 mw and is exploring options in Maharashtra and other states," said Anoop Kumar Mathur, general manager (technical), ONGC.

The oil and gas exploration major is in talks with respective state governments for wheeling the electricity for captive consumption. "In Gujarat, the electricity generated will be used to power the sucker road pumps, used in enhanced oil recovery from our old oil fields in Kutch," said Mathur.

The company has approved the 50 mw unit in Karnataka and is in the process of finalising the location. Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra were the other two states where ONGC was considering wind energy units, he said.

Initiated by the ONGC Energy Centre Trust, the company is working on three projects - a thermo-chemical reactor for hydrogen, geo-bio reactors and fuel cells - to develop renewable energy resources.

ONGC is also developing a 740 mw plant at Palathana in Tripura, primarily to utilise its idle gas reserves. The project is scheduled to be commissioned only by 2010.

Meanwhile, a Suzlon statement said the company would supply 34 units of Suzlon's S82 - 1.5 mw turbines to ONGC for the project in Kutch. The order also covers operation and maintenance for the project for a period of ten years.