Ramagundam NTPC to produce solar power

The Ramagundam National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) is all set to produce solar power from next year. 

NTPC general manager Subhasis Ghosh said on Friday that the solar power project was being constructed at a cost of Rs 8,849 crore and that it would start production in 2014. With that, the total annual output at the two projects would be 14,936 MW - 12,336 MW solar power and 2,600 MW thermal power. He said that due to a shortfall in the coal production at the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), the NTPC was forced to obtain coal stock from other companies also. However, the major share would be from the SCCL only, he added. While the NTPC got 124.26 lakh metric tonnes of coal from the SCCL last year, the quantity would be much less this year, he explained.

Ghosh said that presently all the seven units at the NTPC’s Ramagundam project were under working condition. Renovations were going on at three 200 MW units at an estimated cost of Rs 763 crore. Similarly, three 500 MW units would be renovated later at an estimated cost of Rs 104 crore, the NTPC GM said.