National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) is expected to begin generating partial power from a 92-MW floating solar energy facility at its Kayamkulam plant in Alappuzha. The solar power facility, according to officials, is now ready to generate 10 MW.
Tata Power Solar (70 MW) and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited are constructing the Solar PV Power Station (22 MW). The installation of solar panels with a capacity of 22 MW is nearly complete.
"We are currently capable of generating 10 MW. The remaining 12 MW will be completed by the end of this month, according to BHEL. In addition, work on 70 MW is progressing well, and we expect to finish it by July of this year ", an NTPC official stated.
The project, which is behind schedule, was supposed to be completed in 2021. After a delay in importing solar cells from China, the project faced a stumbling block. "The problem has been rectified, and solar panels are beginning to arrive. We're on track to finish the full project by July "as per the officials.
On the lake next to the NTPC's Rajiv Gandhi Combined Cycle Power Project, a floating solar system is being installed (RGCCPP). The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) is planned to begin purchasing power from the floating solar station at a rate of $3.16 per kWh in the near future. A few of years ago, the KSEB and the NTPC inked an agreement to that effect.
The project is estimated to cost Rs. 465 crores to complete. On floaters, a total of 2.16 lakh solar panels would be installed.
After the 100-MW plant at Ramagundam in Telangana, the Kayamkulam facility will be the NTPC's second-largest floating solar power project.
Due to the high cost, the KSEB had stopped drawing power from the 359-MW naphtha-fueled RGCCPP in 2017. The NTPC decided to focus on solar energy as a result of this. The company has around 1,000 acres of land, including water bodies that might be used to build floating solar projects. It has commissioned a few small solar projects at the Kayamkulam site in recent years.
