Green energy set for higher share in NTPC basket over next decade

NTPC plans to have an end-to-end green energy and fuel portfolio, as it plans to increase its basket of renewable sources to 25 per cent over the next decade.
 

The thermal power behemoth will invest in solar and wind energy, solar-wind hybrid, storage-linked renewable, green hydrogen, and green methanol projects. This is on account of no investment in any greenfield thermal power projects beyond their planned capacities.
 

Over the next decade, NTPC’s energy basket will see thermal portfolio fall to 70 per cent from 90 per cent and that of renewable sources increase to 25 per cent from miniscule 1.7 per cent right now, according to the company’s presentation to investors.
 

NTPC had last week announced a separate subsidiary — NTPC Renewable Energy. All renewable energy and allied projects will be housed under this enterprise with the current staff strength of 75.
 

Among the newer areas NTPC is looking to invest in, are green hydrogen and green methanol — cleaner fuels manufactured at units powered by renewable energy.  People in the know said NTPC has already started a pilot of green methanol near its Ramagundam thermal power plant in Telangana, using carbon capture technology.
 

“The plan is in early stages, but we aim to have a sizeable green hydrogen portfolio in two to three years. There are two pilots running – one is of hydrogen in Leh, and other is green methanol using hydrogen and carbon capture in Ramagundam,” said an executive from NTPC. The Union government notified bio-CNG and hydrogen-CNG (HCNG) as permissible automotive fuels last month.
 

In April, NTPC had invited expressions of interest to provide 10 hydrogen fuel cell-based electric buses in Leh and Delhi. In an investors’ concall in June, the NTPC management said: “The pilot project is being designed with a complete value chain of hydrogen including hydrogen generation from renewable energy, hydrogen storage, and dispensation.” NTPC has decided to not invest in any greenfield thermal power projects and divert majority of its funding towards renewable plans, senior executives said.
 

NTPC told its investors earlier this month the firm was planning to have “30 per cent of non-fossil fuel basket by 2032”. By then, it also wants to become an almost 130 Gw company — from 63 Gw currently. It has 15 Gw coal-based plants in construction phase.

 

“NTPC is planning to raise Rs 15,000 crore this financial year, mainly from the bond market. Of this, Rs 4,000-5,000 crore will be for renewable energy. In any case, renewable will be growing more so bulk funding will go there,” said a senior executive of NTPC.
 

NTPC had recently signed a deal with the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund for investment in the renewable energy, power distribution sectors in India.
 

On the front of renewable power projects, NTPC currently has a portfolio of 5.5 Gw – of which 1 Gw commissioned, 2.3 Gw is under construction, and it plans to participate for around 2.4 Gw projects.
 

NTPC build renewable projects under two heads – EPC (engineering, procurement, and construction) mode, in which it participates in tenders floated by the Centre and states and constructs on its own. The other is developer mode, where it awards renewable projects to private companies and procures power to sell to states. Under the developer mode, 4 Gw projects are operational and tenders for close to 3 Gw would be finalised soon.
 

In the June concall, NTPC management had said, in FY21, the firm will commission around 452 Mw. “In the coming years, we are going to add 4-6 Gw capacity every year, in terms of renewables,” it had said.
 

NTPC is also planning ultra-mega renewable energy projects (UMREP), for which the firm is tying up the land with different states such as Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, among others.
 

UMREP are projects with 1 Gw and above capacity at a single location.
 

“We will continue to add coal plants, depending on the situation in terms of coal generation requirements and all that. But, ultimately, the company is thinking that we have to really go on a higher speed on the renewables side,” the management said in the June concall.