NTPC plans solar project.

A 10-kW solar photovoltaic plant will be set up on a pilot basis on the premises of the NTPC power plant at Kayamkulam. Work on the plant is in progress and it would be commissioned next month, Shankardas, general manager, NTPC Kayamkulam unit, has said.

Addressing a press conference, he said the design and validation process of the solar power project had been completed. The NTPC Energy Technology Research Alliance (NETRA), research wing of the NTPC, has developed floaters made of non-corrosive material, in association with CIPET, for mounting the panels. The panels are made by Radiant Solar Company at Fabcity, Hyderabad.

Floating solar panels have been found to provide higher output owing to low ambient temperature prevailing on the surface of the waterbody. Apart from the advantages derived from the production of green energy, the system will also facilitate less evaporation of water from the waterbody. The cost of the pilot project will be about Rs.13 lakh.

But the installation of solar panels would require a large area. An area of 5 acres will be required to install solar panels for producing 1kW power.

The NTPC Kayamkulam project premises have a rooftop solar project producing 84 kW of energy now. Another rooftop project to produce 84 kW is under construction.

The NTPC unit at Kayamkulam has 1,165 acres of land including waterbodies. About 200 acres of low-lying areas were filled up for setting up the plant.

The power generation plant was originally conceived as a coal-based plant. It has been running on naphtha as fuel.

The plant has been converted for utilising natural gas as fuel. The conversion was completed recently, but the plant is unable to be run on natural gas in the absence of LNG pipeline connectivity.

The cost of power generation is high now due to the high prices of naphtha. The KSEB has not renewed its power purchase agreement with the NTPC Kayamkulam.

PPA will be necessary for the NTPC unit to launch operations using LNG.

The power plant has been running at 6 per cent of its installed capacity in the absence of purchase order from KSEB, the main consumer. The KSEB has been getting power at cheaper rates from other sources outside the State. NTPC is providing power at about Rs.7 per unit now.

The Hindu