Malaysian company proposes gas-based power project in Goa

Panaji, Feb 21 (UNI) The Goa government is examining a Malaysian company's proposal to set up a Rs 1000-crore dual-cycle power plant to produce 130 MW of electricity on BOOT basis.

Deputy Chief Minister Wilfred de Souza, who is also in charge of S&T and environment, said the project is aimed at not only converting 400 tonnes of solid waste into 10 MW of power per day through high-voltage incinerator but also generating an additional 120 MW using imported LNG.

''Apart from ridding Goa of its garbage, the state will get power at no extra investment,'' Dr De Souza said. The state has no power plant of its own and has to depend on central, southern and western grids for power requirement, he pointed out.

The proposal has been placed before Chief Minister Pratap Singh Rane and 100 acres of land has been sought at Colvale for the purpose.

Dr De Souza said that gas-based power plants were better suited to environmentally-conscious states like Goa instead of thermal power plants.

Colvale in North Goa is ideally located near the Power Grid Corporation's installations and, therefore, transmission and distribution losses can be eliminated, he said while elaborating on the choice of Colvale for the project.

The Malaysian company had initially come forward with a Rs 450-crore proposal for setting up a 10 MW power plant that would convert into energy the entire 400 metric tonnes of solid waste generated in the state. The company, however, came up with a fresh proposal for a bigger plant later.

The entire power produced would be available to the state at Rs 2.34 per unit but Goa has to provide land for the plant, the deputy chief minister said.

UNI