Friday, July 9, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Ravi Pradhan, an NRI, to start 5 MW Solar plant in Nagpur
Ravi Pradhan, a non-resident Indian (NRI) with roots in Nagpur, wants to set up solar power plants in Nagpur district. He has set up a private limited company along with local associates.
And, on July 7, 2010 he unveiled a plan to build a 5MW photo voltaic plant and, subsequently, a solar thermal power plant with up to 50 MW generating capacity. Pradhan, the founder of the company, did his schooling in Nagpur and later graduated in mechanical engineering from VRCE (now known as VNIT).
Starting his career with Hindustan Motors, Pradhan later shifted to the US where he did his post graduate studies and worked for top American companies, including Bechtel, which is a global player in solar energy technology. He is one of the few experts in nuclear energy field and hopes to contribute in the sector which has thrown open after the Indo-US nuclear pact signed last year. “The over-dependence on fossil fuels has led to problems of climate change, greenhouse gasses and pollution.
Moreover, the BP oil spill in southern coast of US has devastated lives of millions of people there and necessitated a hard look at renewable, clean energy alternatives,” said Pradhan. Having gained rich experience in energy sector he now wants to contribute to his mother nation and Nagpur was the obvious choice. “Fortunately, like most of India, Vidarbha is in the yellow belt with sunny days of around 300 days a year,” said Pradhan. So, Pradhan Energy Projects Pvt Ltd (PEPPL) has started looking for land to start the 5 MW photovoltaic (PV) plant.
“For setting up PV panels, we will need at least 25 acres of land. We have decided to buy directly through negotiations with land owners at the prevailing market rate and not depend on government acquired land. The idea is to earn their goodwill. Not only will we pay them the market price but also provide direct employment to 250 locals at the plant,” said Prakash Kulkarni, ex technical director of MSEB, who joined PEPPL as project director. Admitting that the initial investment for solar plant is much higher that conventional coal-fired plant, Pradhan says a PV plant costs Rs 18 crore to produce 1 MW.
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