Kerala CM inaugurates CIAL's hydro-electric power plant

Vijayan, in a virtual inauguration of the small hydro project (SHP), said power generation should not be dependent on renewable energy resources alone. The plant, which estimates an annual power generation of 14 million unit, would provide the power to the KSEB (Kerala State Electricity Board) from this week.

''The Left government is planning to implement low-cost and environmentally friendly power projects in collaboration with local bodies and co-operatives. The government's position is that power generation should not be dependent on renewable energy sources alone. We aim to generate maximum energy from water, wind and sunlight,'' Vijayan said.

The project was awarded to CIAL by the State Power Department as per the Kerala Small Hydro power policy under the Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) basis for a lease period of 30 years.

CIAL has constructed a weir dam across Iruvazhinji River and hydro-mechanical and electro-mechanical systems at Arippara, near Kodencheri in Kozhikode district. The project was completed in September and trial run started in October.

CIAL purchased five acres of land from 32 residents and the total project cost is Rs 52 crore.

The powerhouse would generate around 1.08 lakh unit of power a day during peak flow days and is estimated that the plant could be operational in full capacity for 130 days in a year. Being a run-off of the river project, CIAL SHP works on limited storage of water causing no adverse effect on the environment, CIAL said.

The scheme envisages the construction of an overflow type weir across the river, which diverts the water to an intake pool from where the intake structure and connected water conductor system (WCS) start.

''A surge tank was constructed to moderate the water flow during load acceptance and load rejection time. A penstock feeds two machines each of 2.25 MW capacity. A powerhouse, with horizontal turbines, is installed on the right bank of the river with an installed capacity of 4.5MW,'' CIAL said.

The site lies in Nellipoyil Village near Kodencheri in Kozhikode district at a distance of 45 km from Kozhikode City. Electricity Minister K Krishankutty, Industries Minister P Rajeeve, Revenue Minister K Rajan and CIAL CMD S Suhas were among those who participated in the function.