NTPC to Stop New Land Acquisition for Coal-Based Projects

NTPC plans to become the biggest renewable power generation company

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India’s largest coal-fired power generator, NTPC Ltd, aims to transform itself into the country’s biggest renewable energy producer and refrain from acquiring land for new thermal power projects, its chairman, Gurdeep Singh, said in a statement to shareholders.

“To optimize cost, bring synergy in operations, and to add renewables with a focused approach, your company has taken the decision for the formation of a separate subsidiary company for carrying out renewable energy business,” Singh said.

By 2032, state-owned NTPC plans to add 32 GW of renewable generation capacity to its portfolio through organic and inorganic routes. Non-fossil fuel-based generation capacity will make up nearly 30% of its portfolio, which, at present, is less than 10%. By 2022, it plans to set up 10 GW of renewable capacity.

NTPC plans to become a 130 GW power producing company by 2032 investing over ₹ 1 trillion ($14 billion) by 2024.

The capacity will have a diversified fuel mix of 65.4% coal, 4.6% gas, 1.5% nuclear, and 28.5% renewable energy, including hydel generation capacity. The firms’ total thermal generation capacity is around 57 GW, and the shift in focus is to ensure long-term sustainability.

It will develop renewable energy projects through greenfield and brownfield expansions, collaborations, and acquisitions. Currently, it is setting up 2.5 GW of renewable projects. Another 1.6 GW is under construction on developer mode across the country. It is also setting up 237 MW of floating solar projects.

Recently, it issued a tender to enlist engineering, procurement, and construction vendors for floating and ground-mounted solar projects in the country. It also floated a request for proposal to acquire 1 GW of operational solar projects across India.

To scale up, the company plans to develop Ultra Mega Renewable Energy Power Parks projects and is in talks with Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh governments for large land parcels.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Project Tracker, NTPC has 875 MW of large-scale solar projects in operation, with about 2.3 GW of capacity currently under development.

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