NTPC plans to invest RS 50k crore on solar energy plant by 2022

state-owned power giant NTPC is planning to add 10GW of solar energy generation capacity by 2022, which entails an investment of around RS 50,000 crore, to be founded mainly by green bonds, a source has said.


At  present,  NTPC has installed renewable energy capacity of 920MW, which includes mainly solar energy. It has formulated a long term plan to became a 130GW company by 2032 with 30% non-fossil fule or renewable energy capacity.
"The company will compete tendering of 2,300 MW of solar energy capacity by the end of this fiscal. Thereafter it has planned to add 4GW 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 which are offered for pure clene energy projects. The company wants to raise money through domestic green bonds,"the source said.
the NTPC's plans to add 10GW solar energy capacity assumes significance in view of India's ambitious target of having 175GW of clean energy by 2022. The source said that the company would also set up some of its solar energy projects under schame where it gets viability gap funding 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 source added . The sector regulator Central Electricity Regulatory Authority (CERC) has already approved the real time power market, which is expected to kick in by April, 2020.