NTPC Planning to add 10 GW Solar Capacity by 2022

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NTPC is planning to add 10 GW of solar energy capacity by 2022, which entails an investment of around Rs 50,000 crore, to be funded mainly by green bonds.

State-owned power giant NTPC has revealed that it is planning to add 10 GW of solar energy generation capacity by 2022, which entails an investment of around Rs 50,000 crore, to be funded mainly by green bonds.

At present, the Navratna company has installed renewable energy capacity of 920 MW, which includes mainly solar energy. It has formulated a long term plan to become a 130 GW company by 2032 with 30 percent non-fossil fuel or renewable energy capacity.

“The company will complete tendering of 2,300 MW of solar energy capacity by the end of this fiscal. Thereafter it has planned to add 4 GW each in 2020-21 and 2021-22. The company is open to any borrowing option in the market, which is economical. However, the company would mainly rely on green bonds that are offered for pure clean energy projects. The company wants to raise money through domestic green bonds,” a source close to the developments has said.

The plans to add 10 GW solar energy capacity assumes significance in view of India’s ambitious target of having 175 GW of clean energy by 2022.

The source said that the company would also set up some of its solar energy projects under scheme where it gets viability gap funding (VGF) to keep the tariff below Rs 3 per unit level.

Besides, the company will also set up solar energy projects without any long term (for 25 years) power purchase agreements (PPA) as it intends to sell the electricity to industrial as well as commercial consumers and also at energy exchanges.

The sector regulator Central Electricity Regulatory Authority (CERC) has already approved the real-time power market, which is expected to kick in by April 1, 2020. In the real-time power market, there would be 48 sessions of half an hour each in a day. This will allow consumers to get the desired power supply within an hour of buying at the energy exchanges.