TN to look for foreign technology in solar energy

Madurai, Mar 14 (UNI) The Tamil Nadu Government has deputed a two-member high level official team to the US, Germany and Japan to look for low-cost technologies to produce solar energy.

Talking to newspersons here today, State Electricity Minister Arcot N Veerasamy said the team, headed by K Allaudin, Chairman and Managing Director of Tamilnadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA), left for the foreign countries on March 11.

The cost of generating one Mega Watt (MW) of solar power in the state was Rs 22 crore, he said, adding that if technology was available to reduce the cost to Rs ten crore, the state government would go for the same in a larger extent with the Central assistance.

The minister said the Centre had already given its consent to the state government to produce ten MW of solar power and it had fixed Rs 15 for one unit of power in view of heavy investment. The Centre would give Rs 12 per unit as subsidy and the state would have to bear Rs three a unit, he said.

On the charges of alleged power cuts in southern districts of Tamil Nadu, the minister said there may be power interruptions for half-an-hour or one hour but load shedding was not done in any corporation areas in the State.

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