Our renewables will be equal to coal by 2032: NTPC Green Energy CEO

Target that we have set is 60 gigawatts (Gw) of renewables by 2032. The broader objective is that our renewables should be as large as or close to our coal-based portfolio by 2032 - Bhargava

NTPC Green Energy chief executive officer (CEO) Mohit Bhargava, in an interview with S Dinakar, says India’s biggest generator is aiming to dramatically increase renewables portfolio to match that of coal-fired power. During Bhargava’s tenure, NTPC set a benchmark of the lowest tariff in India by winning a solar bid for Rs 1.99 / kWh. Edited excerpts:

How does NTPC see itself as a clean power generator, given its past as India’s biggest supplier of coal-based power?

The target that we have set is 60 gigawatts (Gw) of renewables by 2032. The broader objective is that our renewables should be as large as or close to our coal-based portfolio by 2032.

What kind of break up will the planned 60 Gw of renewables capacity have in terms of wind, solar or biomass?

Solar and wind will be the main components. We have about 20 Gw in the pipeline out of which 3.2 Gw is already operational. Another close to 4.8 Gw is under construction. And, almost another 10-12 Gw is on the drawing board. We plan to start work on a big chunk of this within the next few months. Until nThe target that we have set is 60 gigawatts (Gw) of renewables by 2032. The broader objective is that our renewables should be as large as or close to our coal-based portfolio by 2032. Now, wind has been a very small component. But as we are looking at providing round-the-clock power, the role of wind increases significantly.

What kind of investments are you looking at for green ventures?

On a ballpark basis, if I have to do 60 Gw, then I'm basically looking at almost $40 billion.

What kind of response do you see from banks and investors to finance renewable projects?

On the debt side, if the projects are bankable, lenders are quite happy to lend. On the equity side, we did run an exercise last year. The idea was to on-board an investor. That has not been very successful. So, that process is more or less closed. Right now, we have a commitment from NTPC to provide equity up to a certain level. This should be okay for some time, but we’ll probably need to go to the market sooner or later this year.

What about green bonds? Will they help?

Yes, green bonds are something, which we have discussed earlier also. But in India, there is no greenium (green premium) versus other bonds, while internationally there is.

Are renewable project costs increasing because of higher module costs? Do you see a rise in tariffs?

All these tariffs are reflective of input cost, including cost of debt. In fact, the recent auction, which I believe Gujarat had, saw a tariff of almost Rs 2.75 per unit (Kwh).

In your overall generation mix target of 600 billion units, which you plan by 2032, what kind of role will renewables play?

Until now, it was solar and wind on a plain-vanilla basis. But now, in terms of the contracts we have signed or bids we have won, which is about 20 Gw, that includes hybrid, and hybrid-plus storage. So, we will be supplying round-the-clock renewable power.