OGP ties up Rs 400 crore for six power plants

Oriental Green Power (OGP), a renewable energy generation company promoted by Chennai-based Shriram EPC, has achieved Rs 400-crore financial closure for six bio-mass based power plants.

Speaking to Business Standard, T Shivaraman, managing director and chief executive officer of Shriram EPC, said the company was planning to invest around Rs 1,100 crore in eight projects, of which financial closure for six projects has been achieved.

 “A majority of the lenders are public sector banks, with the only private sector bank being Yes Bank. The banks had come forward to extend debt to the tune of Rs 400 crore,” Shivaraman said. 

OGP has set a target to set up bio-mass based power plants, with a generation capacity of 130 Mw by March 2010. The company expects about 20 per cent of its business to come from bio-mass power. 

Two plants have already been commissioned at Dindugal and Pudukottai in Tamil Nadu, each entailing an investment of Rs 40 crore. Two more plants – coming up near Vandavasi and at Chibbarbarod in Rajasthan – are likely to commence operations by this September. 

Shivaraman said bio-mass power plants had to source agriculture waste – the main raw material – from farmers within 40-50 km radius. The raw material is not available in huge quantities, and hence upgrading or installing power plants beyond 7.5 Mw is not viable, he added. 

Shriram EPC is a leading service provider of integrated design, engineering, procurement, construction and project management services for renewable energy projects, process and metallurgical plants and municipal service sector projects throughout India and is also a manufacturer of 250 Kw wind turbine generators.