Total Installed Capacity Of NTPC Crosses 71,000 MW Mark With Operation Of A 660 MW Unit In Jharkhand

The total installed capacity of NTPC crossed 71 GW (1 GW equals 1,000 MW) with successful completion of the trial operation of the first unit of 660 MW of North Karanpura Super Thermal Power Project (3x660 MW) in Jharkhand.

With the operation of the above-mentioned unit, the total installed capacity of the country’s largest power generator reached 71,544 MW.

North Karanpura Super Thermal Power Project, built based on one of the most efficient Supercritical Technology, has been envisaged with Air Cooled Condenser (ACC) which has one third the water footprint as compared to Water Cooled Condenser (WCC).

This project located in Chatra District of Jharkhand provides affordable power to Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, and Odisha and has a coal source within a ten kilometer radius.

The foundation for this NTPC project in Jharkhand was laid by the then Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

NTPC going green with renewables and hydrogen

India's largest power producer is taking various steps to make its energy portfolio greener by adding significant capacities of renewable energy (RE) sources.

By 2032, the company plans to have 60 GW capacity through RE sources, constituting nearly 45 per cent of its overall power generation capacity.

The power conglomerate has 4.8 GW of renewable capacity under different stages of implementation and another 7.3 GW under tendering process, which will further bolster its green energy portfolio. 

The power major has been commissioning renewable projects on a monthly basis with a cumulative addition of 1,242 MW of renewable capacity in the current fiscal.

The installed RE capacity of the energy major crossed 2 GW on 24 June 2022 with commissioning of the country's largest floating Solar PV project of 92 MW on the reservoir of Kayamkulam Gas Power Station in Alappuzha district, Kerala.

The company now has 36 operational RE projects spread across 12 states with a cumulative capacity of 3,094 MW.

Also, NTPC Ltd has recently commissioned the country's first green hydrogen blending project.

Green hydrogen blending has been started in the piped natural gas (PNG) network of NTPC Kawas township, Surat. The blending project will supply H2- NG (natural gas) to households

NTPC said that the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has given approval for 5 per cent vol./vol. blending of green hydrogen with PNG to start with and the blending level would be scaled phase wise to reach 20 per cent.

The blending of green hydrogen with natural gas reduces CO2 emissions while maintaining the same net heating content.