The public sector’s largest energy conglomerate National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has become India’s first energy company to declare its energy compact goals as part of the UN High-level Dialogue on Energy (HLDE).
NTPC looks to install 60 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2032. The country’s largest power producer is also aiming 10% reduction in net energy intensity by 2032.
Actualizing NTPC’s ambitious renewable energy capacity addition plan, NTPC-Ramagundam is constructing the 100-MW Floating Solar PV Project at its balancing reservoir. This is India’s biggest floating solar plant at a single location.
The NTPC embarked on setting up large floating solar plants after successfully completing pilot projects at Kayamkulam (100 KWH) in Kerala, Kawas (1 MW) in Gujarat. The solar photo-voltaic project, spread over 450 acres on a balancing reservoir will have 4.5 lakh photovoltaic panels and it can be expanded in the future.
Largest in the segment in India, the Floating Solar Project spreads over 450 acres of water surface with an estimated budget of Rs. 423 crore.
“NTPC is focusing on renewable energy. As part of this, here at Ramagundam, we are constructing the environment-friendly 100-MW Floating Solar PV. This plant does not require any additional land,” says Shri Sunil Kumar, CGM (Ramagundam & Telangana), NTPC.
He further added that “The commissioning of this Solar Project could have been completed by this time but for Covid, it has been delayed. Covid has affected both the supply of material and the deployment of manpower. Now, we are planning to commission in a phased manner. Our immediate target is to commission 15 MW by the end of July 2021 and then 10-15 MW in every subsequent month.”
Meanwhile, a few months back, Shri Hardeep Singh Dang, Minister, New & Renewable Energy, Madhya Pradesh paid a visit to the 100-MW Floating Solar project site at NTPC-Ramagundam reservoir to get the first-hand experience as they are planning to execute the world’s largest 600-MW floating solar project at Omkareshwar, MP.