NTPC plans to set up nuclear power project in Bihar, says CMD Gurdeep Singh

Power giant NTPC has plans to set up a nuclear project in Bihar, a move which will increase its non fossil energy portfolio, the company's Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Gurdeep Singh said on Thursday.

NTPC has also requested the state government for a land parcel at a suitable location to take forward its nuclear plans, he said addressing a session at the 'Bihar Business Connect 2024' summit here.

"Looking at the future of the energy sector, nuclear (energy) is expected to become extremely important for the energy sector, 20-30 years down the line. I want to share that NTPC is now entering the nuclear energy space," Singh said.

Without sharing any further details, he said NTPC will conduct a study before taking ahead the plans to set up the nuclear project in the state.

On September 11, the Indian government gave its approval to the Anushakti Vidhyut Nigam Ltd (ASHVINI), a joint venture of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd NPCIL (51 per cent) and NTPC (49 per cent) to build, own and operate nuclear power plants in India in accordance with provisions of the Atomic Energy Act.

Singh said, NTPC is also interested to work in the area of rooftop solar, ground mounted solar, floating solar, pumped storage and battery energy storage projects in the state.

"We look forward to having a majority share of our 60,000 MW of renewable energy capacity by the year 2032 in Bihar," he added.

In Bihar, NTPC has an installed capacity of 8,850 MW, Singh said, adding it is an investment of about Rs 80,000 crore.

NTPC will explore setting up battery storage solutions of around 3000-4000 MWh in Bihar, Singh said.

He also informed that Nabinagar Power Generating Company Ltd (NPGCL) has started working on a 2,400 MW power project in Bihar.

At present NTPC has an installed capacity of 76,531 MW, which includes thermal, solar, wind etc.