India’s largest power generation utility NTPC Ltd plans to partner with India's quasi-sovereign wealth fund, the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) and state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) for acquiring and developing green energy assets including offshore wind projects.
This was articulated by NTPC chairman and managing director Gurdeep Singh in a letter to the shareholders in the utility’s annual report, and assumes significance given that the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) has a long-term target of adding 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy projects by 2030. India plans to leverage scale to bring down offshore energy tariffs by harnessing the enormous wind power potential along its 7,600-km long coastline.
“Further, efforts are on for partnering with National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) and ONGC for exploring opportunities in acquisitions and development of renewable assets including offshore wind," the letter said.
This comes in the backdrop of NTPC preparing for initial public offerings (IPOs) for its clean energy subsidiaries NTPC REL and NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd (NVVN). As part of its green energy pivot, NTPC has lined up aggressive clean energy strategy and plans to reach 60 GW renewable energy capacity by 2032 from the existing 4.7 GW. It plans to invest Rs. 1 trillion between 2019 and 2024 to become a 130 GW power producer by 2032.
“A total of 15% (1560 MW) of renewable bids finalized in the country have been won in FY 2020-21 and 325 MW in FY 2021-22 till date by competing with various players in the sector. It is pertinent to mention that your Company had won solar capacity in the GUVNL tender at a record low tariff of `1.99/kWh, which set a new benchmark in the sector. This underlines the seriousness of your Company on its RE strategy," the letter said.
NTPC Group reported a net profit of $1.85 billion for FY21. It has also announced its target of 10% reduction in net energy intensity as part of its energy compact goals. The public sector unit has an installed capacity of around 67 GW across 70 power projects, and 18 GW under construction.
“Currently, your Company has nearly 1.5 GW of operational renewable capacity, 3 GW projects are in development stage and tenders have been issued for 5 GW of new capacity. Under outsourced/ developer mode, 4.7 GW is operational, and 790 MW is under construction," the letter added.
This comes in the backdrop of India’s peak electricity demand recorded an all-time high of 200.57 GW on 7 July on account of revival of economic activity in the country. Also, in a reaffirmation of India’s push for green energy sources, solar and wind generation recorded an all-time high of 43.1 GW on 27 July, up from the previous high of 41.1 GW on 11 June.
