Telangana: NTPC Ramagundam To Commission India’s Largest Floating Solar Power Plant In Phases

The country’s largest floating solar power plant with a 100-megawatt capacity will soon be commissioned in a phased manner by NTPC-Ramagundam.

NTPC plans to commission a 15 MW segment of the project by the month-end. The 100 MW solar plant is built with a cost of Rs 423 crore and spread across 450 acres on the waters of a reservoir constructed to meet the needs of the thermal power plant.

This project will be the largest floating solar plant in the country in a single location.

“COVIDd-19 restrictions have affected both the supply of material and deployment of manpower. As a result, we have decided to commission the project in phases instead of one go, as planned originally,” Sunil Kumar, Chief General Manager of NTPC Ramagundam, told The Hindu.

“NTPC is utilising the water bodies and huge reservoirs to set up these floating solar units, because it requires huge expenditure for a ground-mounted plant. For setting up one MW solar photo-voltaic plant on ground, we require five acres,” said NTPC southern region executive director CV Anand.

“NTPC is in the process of commissioning a 2x800 MW coal-fired thermal power project at Ramagundam in Telangana. The phase I unit of 800 MW will be commissioned by January 2022 and the phase II of 800 MW by March 2022,” he added.

NTPC is among the few companies to have announced their energy compact goals per the UN High-level Dialogue on Energy (HLDE).

The state-run power producer has doubled its renewable energy target for 2032 and aims to have around 60 gigawatts (GW) of wind and solar capacity by the end of that period. Presently, the company has an installed renewable energy capacity of 1,350 MW, and it intends to build on an additional 13,000 MW of green power generation base by FY24.

In September 2020, NTPC revealed that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the International Solar Alliance (ISA) to carry out 47 solar power projects in small island states and lesser developed countries.