Buoyed by the success of its pilot solar plant, NLC India Ltd. has unveiled plans for installing power plants with net capacity of 500 MW at an estimated cost of Rs. 2,170 crore at various places in Tamil Nadu.
A press release from the NLC said the rollout was part of NLC’s Solar Mission of adding 4,000 MW through installation in various parts of the country.
The NLC’s solar power thrust ties in with Government of India’s National Solar Mission which planned to establish solar power plants with an installed capacity of 1,00,000 MW by 2022.
The NLC, had, on an experimental basis, launched a pilot project of solar power generation with a capacity of 10 MW at the cost of Rs. 75 crore near the Neyveli Air Strip.
The success of the project has now paved the way for adding 130 MW (65 MW x 2) Solar Power Units at Neyveli and the work had been assigned to BHEL and Jackson Engineers Ltd., each with 65 MW.
About 650 acres in north and west side of the Neyveli Township were apportioned for this purpose.
At Andaman Island
NLC is executing a proposal of the Union Ministry for New and Renewable Energy to establish a solar power plant at Andaman & Nicobar Islands by taking up a project to establish a 20 MW Solar Power Plant at Attam Bahar at South Andaman and a 30 MW Solar Power Plant at Kishori Nagar, North Andaman.
As part of the NLC’s roadmap to establish 500 MW Solar Power Plant at various places of Tamil Nadu, NLC has floated tenders and obtained quotations from different firms, subject to a minimum formation capacity of 50 MW.
The power thus generated would be given totally to Tamil Nadu Power Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO), for which, necessary Power Purchase Agreement had been signed.
Generation in 13 months
It is expected to generate 83 crore units of power per annum, by taking into consideration of 19 per cent of capacity utilisation factor (CUF) on an average. The power would be generated within 13 months, from the date of work order, the NLC said.
Future plans for Neyveli include a new lignite-based Thermal Power Station with a capacity of 1,000 MW as replacement for the existing 60-year-old Thermal Power Station-I (600 MW) which is under progress at Neyveli.
It is planned to set up a lignite-based Thermal Power Plant with a capacity of 2,640 MW at Neyveli, for which the lignite would be spared from the proposed third mine with a generation of 1 crore 15 lakh tonnes per annum.
In addition to this, the company is operating a 1,000-MW coal-based Thermal Power Station at Thoothukudi through NLC Tamil Nadu Power Ltd., a joint venture between NLC India and TANGEDCO.
Meanwhile, tenders have been floated to set up a 250 MW Solar Power Plant in Odisha.
The Centre has allotted a coal mine at Thalapira in Odissa to NLC India Limited. The coal excavated from the mine would be utilised for the proposed 4,000 MW pit-head Thermal Power Plant.
Apart from this, preliminary works are in progress to set up 1,000 MW solar power plant, each in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Under the renewable energy plan, NLC is setting up 34 wind mills with a generation capacity of 1.5 MW, each. Of this, power from 29 wind mills had commenced. It was proposed to set up more wind mills with power generating capacity of 200 MW in Tamil Nadu.
NLC had set a target for generating power with a capacity of 20,971 MW by 2025, which includes thermal power plants and renewable energy projects.
