NTPC to spend Rs. 1,000 crore on research and development in 6 years.

NTPC, India's largest power producer and consumer of coal, has embarked on a near Rs 1,000 crore research and development exercise that will involve groundbreaking work in areas of new and renewable energy, waste management, efficiency improvement and cost reduction.

The company, which recently announced big plans for entering the solar energy sector, has decided to work on developing power generation technologies that will use lesser volumes of coal and thus reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Last year spent about Rs. 129 crore or nearly 1.2% of its profit after tax on R&D, a senior NTPC official said.

'The company intends to spend increasingly larger sums, at least over 1% each year in the successive years. We hope to spend close to Rs. 1,000 crore in the next five-six years,' said the official, requesting not to be named. One of the largest R&D exercises that NTPC has embarked on, along with BHEL, is an advanced ultra-super critical technology development project that involves building 800 MW thermal power units with best in class power plants that will be 10% more efficient than the latest power units available.

The project has been granted a budget of Rs. 1,554 crore, of which about Rs 1,100 crore will be provided by the Centre. 'NTPC's energy arm NTPC Energy Technology Research Alliance (NETRA) has been working on developing cutting edge technologies by carrying out applied research which will translate into cost reductions as well as a greener and cleaner tomorrow,' the official said.


ET