(T.H)
The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) is all set to start partial power generation from a 92-MW floating solar energy plant being set up at NTPC’s unit at Kayamkulam in Alappuzha. Officials said the solar power plant was now ready to generate 10 MW. The work on the Solar PV Power Station is being carried out by Tata Power Solar (70 MW) and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (22 MW). Of this, the installation of solar panels to produce 22 MW is nearing completion.
The project is being implemented at a cost of ₹465 crore. A total of 2.16 lakh solar panels will be mounted on floaters. Once completed, the Kayamkulam plant will be the second-largest floating solar power project of the NTPC after the 100-MW plant at Ramagundam in Telegana. The KSEB had stopped drawing power from the 359-MW naphtha-fuelled RGCCPP since 2017 due to the cost. It led the NTPC to shift its focus to solar energy. The company is in possession of around 1,000 acres of land, which includes waterbodies suitable for setting up floating solar projects. In recent years, it commissioned a few small solar projects at the Kayamkulam site. .
