MSPL's wind power facility at Dhule goes on stream

MSPL Ltd, the largest producer of wind energy in the country, commissioned a 20 mw wind energy project at Dhule to become the first domestic firm to have over 100 mw of installed capacity in the wind energy sector.

In a press release issued by MSPL, the company stated, "At present, it is operating three wind farms located in Karnataka and Maharashtra, and with the commissioning of the Dhule plant, MSPL's total generation capacity has gone up from 85.6 mw to 105.6 mw.

The Dhule wind energy project comprising of 16 turbines of 1,250 kilo watt (kw) each has been set up at a capital investment of Rs 100 crore and the plant has been sourced from Suzlon Ltd.

The company has entered into a 13-year power purchase deal with Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co Ltd (MSEDCL) for sale of power generated at Dhule. MSEDCL has contracted to purchase power at Rs 3.50 per unit for the first year and to give a 15 paise escalation for the remaining 12 years.

Shrenik Baldota, director, MSPL, said, "We benefit from favourable wind farm locations which are exposed to a relatively high wind speed. Higher wind speed generates more power using the same equipments. We also benefit from a favourable regulatory environment, including certain tax benefits."

In an another development, MSPL has acquired six railway rakes for transportation of iron ore from its mines in the Bellary-Hospet region in Karnataka to ports in Goa and New Mangalore for exports.

The company recently received three of these six rakes and is expecting to receive two more during the week. It will get the sixth rake in early April. Each of these rakes would have a capacity to carry 3,600 metric tonne and cost Rs14 crore.

"This is a significant step forward in our logistics management as this would not just improve our efficiency levels and cut logistics cost by about 30 per cent but also help us move larger quantities of iron ore from mines to port and help the company earn better revenues in coming years," said Baldota.