NTPC Ltd has commissioned the largest floating solar PV project of 25MW on the reservoir of its Simhadri thermal power station in Visakhapatnam.

This is also the first solar project to be set up under the Flexibilisation Scheme, notified by the Government of India in 2018. The Solar PV project was inaugurated today.

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The floating solar installation has a unique anchoring design and is spread over 75 acres of reservoir. This floating solar project has the potential to generate electricity from more than 1 lakh solar PV modules. This wwill help light around 7,000 households, and ensure that at least 46,000 tons of CO2e are kept at arm’s length every year during the lifespan of this project. The project will also save 1,364 million litres of water per annum. This would be adequate to meet the yearly water requirements of 6,700 households.

The 2000MW coal-fored Simhadri Station is the first power project to implement an open sea intake from the Bay of Bengal which has been functional for more than 20 years.

Other power projects

NTPC is also planning to set up a hydrogen-based micro-grid system on a pilot basis at Simhadri, according to a company statement.

NTPC is India's first energy company to declare its energy compact goals as part of the UN High-level Dialogue on Energy (HLDE).

With a total installed capacity of 66900 MW, NTPC Group has 71 power stations including 29 renewable projects. NTPC has set a target to install 60 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy (RE) capacity by 2032. The group has over 17 GW of capacity under construction, including 5 GW of renewable energy projects.

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