The Union Minister for Railways, Coal, Finance & Company Affairs, Piyush Goyal today inaugurated Neyveli Lignite Corporation India Limited (NLCIL)’s three 100 MW Solar Power Projects for commercial operation and dedicated these projects to the Nation. The Solar Power projects situated at Thoppalaakkarai and Sethupuram in Virudhunagar District and Sellaiya Sezhiyanallur in Tirunelveli District, with an installed capacity of 100 MW each, were erected at a cost of Rs 1,300 Crores, which includes Operation & Maintenance cost for 15 Years. The power produced from these units will be given to Tamilnadu Power Generation and Distribution Company (TANGEDCO) at a cost of Rs.4.41/- per unit.
Piyush Goyal in his inaugural address lauded the efforts of NLCIL Management, Employees and trade unions for their unstinting efforts for the growth of organization with a new vision. He appealed to all employees to strive for the growth of the company with new vision to realize the New India to take care of future generations. Mr Goyal also appreciated the CSR initiatives of the organization. He urged the management to co-ordinate with the Railways and to start free WiFi for students, open Jan aushadhi Kendras and make sanitary napkins available on all eight railway stations near Neyveli. He also suggested to explore the possibility that the old age home and orphanage, run by the PSU, should be run from a single complex, so that the integrated home can enrich both the children and the elders. A Memorandum of Understanding was also signed by NLCIL and Anna University in the presence of Hon’ble Minister, CMD and other functional Directors of NLCIL. This MOU was signed by Dr. V. Manoharan, General Manager/Centre for Applied Research & Development, NLCIL, Neyveli and Dr. S. Ganesan, Registrar, Anna University, Chennai. The MoU would help set up a pilot project on solar drying of lignite, in order to increase its Caloric Value from 2700 Kcal to 4350 Kcal. The cost of the pilot project is Rs 2 Crore 69 Lakhs.
