State-owned gas utility GAIL (India) Ltd. has signed an important agreement with Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited to investigate the possibility of developing projects totaling 1 GW of solar and wind power in Rajasthan. This partnership comes in the wake of a larger strategy to optimize gas-based power generation and develop greater renewable energy capacity in the state. Significantly, the two entities on Thursday signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the first of its kind for expanding the state’s energy portfolio for Rajasthan.
Overview of Cooperation
The partnership between GAIL and RRVUNL is expected to take into account the increasing demand for clean energy in the state of Rajasthan through the co-development and operation of renewable energy projects and enhancement of the efficiency of existing gas-based power plants. The MoU sketches out plans for exploring the possibility of transfer of RRVUNL’s gas-based power plants located in Ramgarh and Dholpur to a proposed joint venture company between the two companies. The move is aimed at optimization of the operations of these power plants in view to ensuring more efficient energy provisioning.
The two also said that in addition to making gas-based power generation more efficient, GAIL and RRVUNL would join hands to develop nearly 1,000 MW of solar and wind projects. They would be located on suitable parcels of land across the state of Rajasthan, although the details of the location and investments have not yet been disclosed. The partnership will specifically look into the proper due diligence and feasibility studies to be carried out for establishing the techno-commercial viability of every project before going ahead with the formation of a joint venture company.
GAIL’s Existing Infrastructure and Contributions
GAIL has a well-established natural gas pipeline network about 1,090 KM in Rajasthan, supplying gas to industrial customers in key areas, viz. Bhiwadi, Neemrana, Khuskhera, Kota, Jaisalmer, and Chittorgarh. The network supports key industries like Chambal Fertilisers and Shriram Fertilisers, which depend on a steady supply of natural gas to power their operations.
Besides, GAIL also supplies gas to 19 city gas distribution entities in the state that operate in various cities, like Kota, Bhilwara, Bhiwadi, Chittorgarh, Jodhpur, to support the residential, commercial, small industrial, and transport sectors. This is a big step toward reducing the carbon footprint in the state and achieving sustainable development.
GAIL also runs the 1,427-km long Jamnagar-Loni LPG pipeline, of which 694 km is in Rajasthan, from Abu Road to Alwar. In Rajasthan itself, the corporation is providing polymers for the manufacturing of HDPE pipes to relieve pressure on water supply and sewage networks and to make sure that water keeps being supplied seamlessly through taps in every rural household of the state under the JJM scheme.
This collaboration of GAIL and RRVUNL has a strategic objective within the overall aim of transitioning the energy infrastructure in Rajasthan to a new platform of operation, increasing renewable energy projects, and optimizing gas-based power plants already existing. This collaboration will specifically help those projects in which GAIL and RRVUNL are working together in order to study expanded capacities of solar and wind energy with the order 1 GW in the coming years. Such a strategic alliance between GAIL and RRVUNL will actually help this state gain a much cleaner sustainability goal and thereby help India pave the way for a greener planet. This joint initiative is gaining momentum and is poised to bring the next big wave of environmental and economic benefits for Rajasthan.
Source: GAIL (India) Ltd. release
Credits: GAIL (India) Ltd.