‘Solar’ NTPC proposes more ‘power’ than Athirapilly hydel project

The NTPC Kayamkulam station has put forward a proposal to the state government and the KSEB to set up a 170MW solar power project without affecting the ecology and draining the state exchequer.
NTPC proposes a solar power project in Kerala.
NTPC proposes a solar power project in Kerala.

ALAPPUZHA: If the state government goes ahead with the controversial 163MW Athirapilly Hydroelectric Project, 104.40 hectares of forest rich in biodiversity will be submerged displacing the Kadar tribals once again. Worse, the iconic Athirapilly waterfalls could dry up.  

Even as the government tries to allay this fear, the National Thermal Power Corporation’s (NTPC) Kayamkulam station has put forward a proposal to the state government and the KSEB to set up a 170MW solar power project without affecting the ecology and draining the state exchequer to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore.

NTPC general manager Kunal Gupta told ‘Express’ the proposal was handed over to the KSEB. “After their acceptance, the preparation of the project report will begin,” he said. KSEB chairman K Elangovan said the board will have to discuss the conditions of the NTPC.

“Then, we will hand over the matter to the state government for its consideration,” he said.
The corporation plans to utilise its land and facilities in Kayamkulam. More than 700 acres are available and the transmission and storage facilities have already been installed in its 350MW thermal plant.

The proposal comes at a time when the NTPC is turning to green energy under the direction of the Central Government.

The company has already installed a 105KW solar plant on its premises on an experimental basis. As much as 100MW is being generated from floating solar panels.  

“This is the largest floating solar power generation unit in the country,” said NTPC DGM Deepna Mehta. “The floating platform has been indigenously developed by NTPC Energy Technology Research Alliance (NETRA), the research and development arm of the corporation, in collaboration with the Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology (CIPET) in Chennai. It can reduce the cost of floating material used for solar panel fixing in water.”

The NTPC owns 897 acres and most of it is waterlogged. Only one third of the land was used to install the thermal power plant. So the solar panel can be set up on land and in water bodies.

The state government has been allotting Rs 300 crore to the NTPC every year as per the power purchase agreement (PPA). But no unit of energy is purchased because of the hike in charges over the past two years.  An NTPC officer told Express, once the solar plant is functional, the corporation will be able to provide power to the state at a subsidised rate.

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