Government-owned mining and power generating company NLC India has announced the incorporation of a subsidiary named NLC India Renewables to manage the existing renewable assets of the company.

The company has been registered in Chennai and will begin its operations soon.

NLC organizes its businesses under mining (lignite and coal), power generation (including thermal, solar, and wind), and power trading.

The company is an important source of power generation to the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana, Rajasthan, and the union territory of Puducherry.

NLC is working towards achieving 6,031 MW of renewable energy capacity by 2030 with the implementation of the proposed projects.

According to Mercom India Solar Project Tracker, NLC India has nearly 1.37 GW of large-scale solar projects in operation.

According to the company statement, NLC’s installed wind capacity stood at 51 MW as of March 2023.

It aims to continue its foray into large-scale renewable energy projects, especially ultra-mega solar projects, and installing solar projects on de-coaled mines.

During its recent quarterly earnings call, the company said that for ultra-mega solar projects, it might explore the option of scheduling renewable power with thermal power to take care of intermittency issues and realize consistent tariffs.

The company also plans to foray into green hydrogen production using the renewable power generated from the projects.

Further, the company is making its foray in Assam with a 1 GW solar project with a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between NLC India and the Assam Power Distribution Company on August 9, 2022. The approval of the joint venture formation is in progress.

The company has stated that it has already started working on lignite to methanol, battery storage, electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, and green hydrogen under the diversification project. It is also evaluating the avenues for pumped storage.

The company recorded an all-time highest-ever renewable power generation of 2,195 million units (MU) in the financial year (FY) 2022-23 as against 2,184 MU in FY 2021-22.

The company’s total income increased to ₹141.96 billion (~$1.73 billion) in FY 2022-23 as against ₹106.62 billion (~$1.29 billion) in FY 2021-22, registering a growth of 33%.

Recently, NLC India invited bids to select a qualified coordinating agency to provide forecasting, scheduling, and deviation settlement mechanism for 1,400 MW of solar and wind power projects at various places in Tamil Nadu.