NTPC ties up with GE, ADB for renewable energy JV

NTPC, the country’s largest power generator, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with four overseas partners to form a joint venture company for setting up renewable energy projects with a capacity of about 500 mw in the next three years.

The government-owned NTPC will hold 40 per cent and the partners will hold the remaining stake in the proposed company. The investments and mode of funding have not yet been finalised.

The four partners are Asian Development Bank (ADB) - the Asian arm of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), GE Energy Financial Services (GEEFS) — the financial services arm of General Electric, Kyushu Electric Power Company, Japan and Brookfield Renewable Power (BRP) - the wholly owned arm of Brookfield Asset Management.

“The company will only take up wind power projects initially. Later, we will explore other areas such as solar energy”, said R S Sharma, chairman and managing director, NTPC. “The basic motto for stepping into renewable power is the company’s drive to achieve a sustainable energy mix,” he added.

India plans to add capacity worth around 78,000 mw in the current plan period (2007-12), including 15,000 mw from renewable energy and 10,500 mw from wind power.

Under the MoU, NTPC will have powers to nominate the chairman of the proposed company.

The venture would develop projects in India initially and later invest in overseas projects.

Earlier this year, the company announced its decision to invest 0.5 per cent of its annual profit - about Rs 30 crore - for the development of clean coal technologies through its “Research and Development Fund for Sustainable Energy”.

The research project involves developing coal gasification technology for commercial use and reducing the cost of harnessing solar energy.

The company will carry out annual audits and report the quantity of harmful greenhouse gas emissions from its power plants regularly, Sharma added.

NTPC is the leading power generating company and consumes about 25 per cent of the country’s coal production. Its power generation capacity currently stands at about 23,000 mw.