(Financial Express)
National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), the state-owned integrated power utility company, has charted out plans to add 30 gigawatt (GW) of coal-based capacity by the year 2031-32, up from its earlier target of 26 GW, as the country’s demand for power continues to remain high, said a senior executive of the company who did not wish to be identified.
For FY26, the company intends to add 3 GW of coal-based capacity, and 5 GW of renewable energy capacity. For FY25, NTPC has already added 660 megawatt (MW) of thermal capacity and 3.3 GW of renewable energy capacity, respectively.
The government has projected the country’s peak demand for power to rise to over 270 GW during this summer season. In line with the rising demand, the government has announced an addition of 80 GW of coal-based capacity by 2032 ,while building a robust renewable energy mix.
Over the years, NTPC has diversified into renewable energy sources including wind, solar, hydro, nuclear energy, and chemicals, like ethanol and methanol. Going ahead, the company will be more aggressive in increasing its renewable energy capacity and nuclear energy, along with energy storage solutions.
In order to achieve the estimated target of 100 GW of nuclear capacity by 2047, NTPC will be commissioning 30 GW of nuclear capacity, the official said.
NTPC is already building nuclear plants with 2.8 GW capacity in collaboration with Nuclear Power Corp of India. One such plant will be based in Madhya Pradesh while the other in Rajasthan. The country presently has 8 GW of nuclear capacity, operated solely by Nuclear Power Corp.
The company has recently announced the setting up a 50 MW solar project in Sri Lanka in a joint venture (JV) with Ceylon Electricity Board named Trincomalee Power Company Limited and is now evaluating similar projects in Africa and Saudi Arabia.
“We are also looking at Operations and Maintenance (O&M) or consultancy projects in Saudi Arabia and African countries,” the source said, adding that the company is under discussions with Eskom, an electricity utility firm in South Africa, for such projects.
Recently, the company had invited expressions of interest (EoIs) from global companies for cooperation in indigenising pressurised water reactors (PWR) technology and to establish large-capacity nuclear power plants with a target capacity of around 15 GW.
In the renewable energy segment, the company’s green energy arm, NTPC Green, through its joint venture with ONGC Green named ‘ONGC NTPC Green’, aimed at setting up battery energy storage projects, offshore and onshore wind projects, and green chemical projects. This joint venture has recently completed the acquisition of 100% equity stake in Ayana Renewable Power for Rs 6,248.50 crore.
NTPC Green is targeting a 19 GW renewable energy capacity in a phased manner by 2026-27 at an estimated investment of Rs 1 lakh crore, the company had said earlier.
The company which is primarily engaged in electricity generation is also actively evaluating the idea of entering into the distribution sector, sources said.
