The Economic Times daily newspaper is available online now.

    NTPC set to unveil India’s largest floating solar plant

    Synopsis

    ​​During a virtual press conference here,NTPC Regional Executive Director (South) C V Anand said:"100 MW at Ramagundam, 25 MW at Simhadri, Visakhapatnam, 92 MW at Kayamkulam, Kerala.So, these are the floating solar, what we have taken up right now."

    solar--reutersReuters
    State-run power generator NTPC is set to unveil the country’s largest floating solar power plant of 100 mw capacity at Ramagundam in Telangana under non-PPA (power purchase agreement) mode.

    CV Anand, NTPC’s regional director-south, told reporters on Wednesday that the floating solar power plant — coming up over 450 acres of reservoir area and involving an investment of Rs 423 crore — will take off by May.

    NTPC is the country’s largest power utility, accounting for over a fifth of the country’s power generation. Apart from preparing to commence operations of a 1,600 mw of coal-fired power plant at Ramagundam, involving Rs 10,599 crore investment in a year or so, it is also building a 230 mw solar power plant at Ettayapuram, near Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu, to supply power to Telangana, Anand said.

    Of the 1,600 mw facility that got delayed owing to Covid-19 lockdowns last year, an 800 mw unit will take off in January 2022 and the second unit of 800 mw in a couple of months from then, he said. Of this, some 85% of the power was already allocated to Telangana and the home state was seeking the balance 15% as well.

    NTPC had tied up coal for the 1,600 mw project from Mandakini-B coal block in Odisha and tapering linkage from Singareni Coal Collieries in Telangana for 6.85 million tonnes a year.

    Anand said NTPC is building two more floating solar power plants in the southern region--at Simhadri in Andhra Pradesh with a capacity of 25 mw, and at Kayamkulam in Kerala involving a capacity of 92 mw. In all, the power company will be adding 217 mw of floating solar power plants in southern India to take off in a year or so.

    NTPC is not only using the reservoirs built for thermal power projects but also backwaters in Kerala for setting up floating solar power plants, which should help it bundle with conventional power to bring down the overall cost of production.


    (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
    ( Originally published on Mar 10, 2021 )
    (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News Budget 2024 News, Budget 2024 Live Coverage, Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)

    Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.

    ...more

    (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
    (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News Budget 2024 News, Budget 2024 Live Coverage, Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)

    Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.

    ...more
    The Economic Times

    Stories you might be interested in