NTPC to sell 10 Mw solar power to DVC

To slash coal imports for its 3000 Mw Kaniha plant

NTPC, the country’s biggest power producerwould sell 10 Mw solar power to Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC).The solar power plant of 10 Mw capacity installed within thecomplex of NTPC’s 3000 Mw super thermal power station at Kaniha, near Talcher, ispoised for commissioning by March this year.”We have already entered into a power purchaseagreement (PPA) with DVC for sale of solar power. The power generated from oursolar plant will be sold in bundled form along with thermal power at a price of Rs 6-7 per unit”, V B Fadnavis, executive director, NTPC (Talcher-Kaniha) said.

NTPC’s solar plant at Kaniha has been erected by Bharat HeavyElectricals Ltd (Bhel) at a cost of Rs 60 crore.Meanwhile, NTPC is set to cut coal imports for its Kanihasuper thermal station, banking on improved coal supplies from the linked Lingarajand Kaniha coal mines of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL). On an average, NTPC isreceiving around 25,000 tonne of coal per day from Lingaraj mines and 20,000tonne from Kaniha mines.

Coal requirement for the 3000 Mw mega station atKaniha is pegged at 55,000 tonne per day.”

Presently, there are no issues with coal supplies fromMCL.

Coal despatch has improved significantly. MCL has also put in place athird party sampling system since October last year to oversee coal quality. Withimproved supplies from MCL, we hope to reduce our dependence on importedcoal”, said Fadnavis.In the current fiscal, NTPC has imported two million tonnecoal for its Kaniha plant. Imported coal meets 15 per cent of its total fuel requirement. NTPC Kaniha generates 20,000 tonne fly ash every day withthe fly ash utilization being 40-45 per cent.

The fly ash is mainly used forbrick making.Asked about the proposed expansion of NTPC’s Talcher ThermalPower Station (TTPS), Fadnavis said, “The expansion programme is awaiting necessaryclearances like environmental clearance and fuel linkages.”NTPC in its second phase expansion, is adding twosupercritical units of 660 Mw each at TTPS whose current capacity is 460 Mw.Odisha had sought 500 Mw from the second stage capacity ramp up of TTPS thatNTPC acquired from the erstwhile Orissa State Electricity Board (OSEB) in 1995.

With a current installed capacity of 3460 Mw in Odisha, NTPCis setting up two super thermal power stations at Gajamara (Dhenkanal) andDarlipalli (Sundargarh) each with capacity of 1600 Mw.