Nalco to invest Rs 660 cr on 100 MW wind power plant

Company is also planning to set up a solar power plant to meet its solar purchase obligation

National Aluminium Company (Nalco), the navratna public sector undertaking under ministry of mines, plans to set up a 100 Mw wind power project with an investment of Rs 660 crore.

“The project will be set up shortly at a suitable location in India”, Ansuman Das, chairman cum managing director (CMD) of Nalco said at the company’s 33rd annual general meeting (AGM) here.

Selection of wind power developer is underway, he added.Nalco has already commissioned two wind power plants in Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan. The 50.4 Mw plant in Andhra Pradesh was commissioned in 2012-13 while the Rajasthan unit of 47.6 Mw, built at an investment of Rs  283 crore, was put to operation in January 2014. About 150 million units of electricity were generated from these two plants in 2013-14.

In Odisha, the aluminium major also plans to put up a 14 Mw wind power project in mined out area of its bauxite mines at Damanjodi.

The central PSU is also planning to set up a solar power plant at a suitable location in the country to meet its solar purchase obligation. To ensure viability of its second smelter and power complex proposed in Sundargarh district, Nalco is trying to secure a coal block.

The company posted net profit of Rs 642 crore during 2013-14 compared to Rs 593 crore in the previous year. It also achieved the highest ever metal exports in 2013-14. The export earnings stood at record Rs 3719 crore.

In the first quarter (April-June period) of 2014-15, Nalco has registered a net profit of Rs 271 crore which is higher by 58 per cent compared to the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

Nalco has completed the commissioning activities for capacity upgradation of fourth stream of alumina refinery from 525,000 tonne to 700,000 tonne per year and of bauxite mines from 6.3 million tonne to 6.825 million tonne per year at an estimated cost of around Rs 400 crore.