NTPC to invest Rs 50,000 crore to add 10GW solar energy capacity 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 funded mainly by green bonds, a source has said. At present, NTPC has installed renewable energy capacity of 920 MW, which includes mainly solar energy. It has formulated a long-term plan to become a 130GW company by 2032 with 30 percent non-fossil fuel or renewable energy capacity. "The company will complete 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 clean energy projects. The company wants to raise money through domestic as well as overseas 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 scheme 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 1 April 2020. In the real-time power market, there would be 48 sessions of half an hour each in a day. This will allow consumers to get the desired power supply within an hour of buying at the energy exchanges. At present, power is traded for two hours a day from 10AM to 12AM, where the consumer can schedule the delivery in a day advance.

The source also said the company intends to capitalise on real-time power market, which is just three months away.