NTPC to build 375-MW solar power plant in Uttar Pradesh

The UP government is set to join hands with NTPC to develop a 375-MW solar power plant in Jalon district, with the objective of tiding over the power crisis.

The state government plans to hand over about 750 hectare in Jalon to NTPC for developing the solar plant in a phased manner. NTPC will pay the state government a nominal rent on lease.

“The ministry of new and renewable energy under has launched a scheme for developing 25 ultra mega solar power projects, or solar parks, each with a capacity of 500 MW to 1,000 MW in five years, targeting around 20,000 MW of installed capacity,” said a senior official. “Out of these 25 solar parks, one is in UP and we have identified land in Jalon district. The project will be a joint venture between NEDA, which is the nodal agency for UP, and the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). NTPC will be the implementing agency.”

Recently, NTPC inked a pact with the Andhra Pradesh government for developing 1,000-MW solar projects on build-own-operate basis. However, as UP has just 4.1% wasteland — the least in the country — it was unable to give a contiguous land parcel. “This is why we want NTPC to decentralise the solar park and make it in smaller pockets where a vast area of land is not available. We only have about 750 hectare in Jalon and are trying to identify more patches of 100 hectare that can be offered to NTPC. So far, we have identified 100 hectare in Sonbhadra, Mirzapur and Allahabad,” said the official.

Apart from the 375-MW project in Jalon, projects of 50 MW each are soon expected to come up at Sonbhadra, Mirzapur and Allahabad. UP Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam is also set to develop a 50-MW solar plant over 100 hectare in Jhansi district, at an investment of R400 crore.

A JV with the NHPC will set up another 50-MW solar plant in Jalon.