• NTPC commissioned India’s largest floating solar photovoltaic (PV) project at Ramagundam in Telangana’s Peddapalli district.

• On July 1, NTPC declared commercial operation of the final part capacity of 20 MW out of the 100 MW project. 

• With the operationalisation of the 100 MW solar PV project at Ramagundam, total commercial operation of floating solar capacity in the southern region rose to 217 MW. 

• Earlier, NTPC declared commercial operation of 92 MW floating solar at Kayamkulam (Kerala) and 25 MW floating solar at Simhadri (Andhra Pradesh).

• NTPC has already commissioned 222 MW of floating solar projects and another 40 MW projects are in the construction stage.

Highlights of the 100 MW project at Ramagundam

• The 100 MW project at Ramagundam is endowed with advanced technology as well as environment friendly features. 

• Constructed with financial implication of Rs 423 crore through BHEL as EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contract, the project spreads over 500 acres of its reservoir. 

• It is divided into 40 blocks, each having 2.5 MW. Each block consists of one floating platform and an array of 11,200 solar modules. The floating platform consists of one inverter, transformer and a HT breaker. The solar modules are placed on floaters manufactured with HDPE (high-density polyethylene) material.

• The entire floating system is being anchored through special HMPE (high-modulus polyethylene) rope to the dead weights placed in the balancing reservoir bed. 

• The power is being evacuated up to the existing switch yard through 33KV underground cables.

• This project is unique in the sense that all the electrical equipment including inverter, transformer, HT panel and SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) are also on floating ferro cement platforms. 

• From an environmental point of view, the most obvious advantage is minimum land requirement mostly for associated evacuation arrangements. Further, with the presence of floating solar panels, the evaporation rate from water bodies is reduced, thus helping in water conservation. 

• Approximately 32.5 lakh cubic meters per year of water evaporation can be avoided. The water body underneath the solar modules helps in maintaining their ambient temperature, thereby improving their efficiency and generation. 

• Similarly, coal consumption of 1,65,000 tonnes can be avoided per year and CO2 emission of 2,10,000 tonnes per year can be avoided.

NTPC

• NTPC, formerly known as National Thermal Power Corporation Limited, was established in 1975.

• It is India’s largest power utility with an installed capacity of 69,134.20 MW (including JVs). It has 71 power stations including 29 renewable projects. 

• NTPC has set a target to install 60 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity by 2032.

• From fossil fuels it has forayed into generating electricity via hydro, nuclear and renewable energy sources. 

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

• To strengthen its core business, the corporation has diversified into the fields of consultancy, power trading, training of power professionals, rural electrification, ash utilisation and coal mining as well.

• NTPC became a Maharatna company in May 2010.

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