Chennai: In a relief to investors in solar plants in the state, Tamil Nadu Green Energy Corporation (TNGECL) has started issuing no-objection to projects that were kept in abeyance since the TVK govt took over.Electricity and law minister R Nirmalkumar had alleged malpractices in granting approvals to solar plants and said the proposals would be reviewed again before being given a go-ahead. The green corporation’s then chief engineer P Chandrasekaran, chief financial controller V Kasi, superintendent engineer Prasad and another executive engineer were placed under suspension, on charges of approving solar projects without the consent of senior officials.The investors approached Madras high court stating that 226 solar projects with a cumulative capacity of 736.5MW and seven wind projects with a capacity of 400MW were stuck as the state decided to put the projects on hold. While high court had ordered interim stay on the minister’s instructions, TNGECL has begun giving go-ahead to such projects.In one such order, TNGECL chief engineer (NCES) B G Kalaivani said the abeyance order on the load flow study of the project has been withdrawn for application processing, and issued directions to comply with provisions issued by the Central Electricity Authority.Renewable Energy Producers Association (REPA) has welcomed TNGECL’s decision to withdraw the abeyance order on solar and wind projects, as it would give much-needed impetus to increase the installed capacity of green power in the state. “The board should also speed up the work on the dedicated online portal to apply for new projects to make the entire process transparent,” said K Venkatachalam, chief advisor to REPA.
