A plan is on the anvil to explore the possibility of setting up a geo-thermal power station of 200-megawatt capacity in collaboration with the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) by utilising hot water springs of the coal belt of Manuguru area to promote renewable energy generation, SCCL chairman and managing director N. Balram said.
Speaking at the main function of the decennial celebration of the Telangana formation in the coal town of Kothagudem on Sunday, Mr Balram said a geothermal power station has been set up on an experimental basis at Pagideru in Manuguru mandal by harnessing the hot water springs in the coal belt region.
As part of the ambitious diversification plans, the SCCL is planning to take up surface coal gasification projects to produce ammonium nitrate. This will help augment the supply of the ammonium nitrate to the SCCL’s small and medium enterprise (SME) plants engaged in the production of explosive materials for the removal of overburden removal in the opencast projects in the coal belt region, he said.
Mr. Balram outlined the SCCL’s solar energy initiatives to tap the inexhaustible source of solar power as part of the ambitious diversification plans of the SCCL.
He detailed the ambitious plans of the SCCL to commence coal production in Naini coal block in Odisha with a potential of one crore tonnes coal per annum and other new projects to augment coal production to meet the burgeoning demand for coal to meet the demand from the thermal power stations and other coal consuming plants.
