Prayagraj (Rajesh Shukla). Meja Energy Corporation Pvt. Ltd, a joint venture of NTPC Ltd and Uttar Pradesh State Power Generation Corporation, is set to enter floating solar projects in line with the energy transition goals of its promoter NTPC, Uttar Pradesh Chief Executive Officer Sunil Kumar said. Committed to diversifying operations in line with its evolving energy transition objectives and growing electricity demand. The company has also introduced plans to increase its thermal power generation capacity from the current 1.32 GW to 5.6 GW.
“We will explore the possibility of setting up a floating solar project in the Govind Ballabh Pant Sagar reservoir. This will not require land acquisition and displacement of people. It also reduces evaporation. The reservoir is very big and we will work with the UP government as it is within their purview."
Kumar will leverage his experience of building the 100 MW Ramagundam unit to set up the proposed project. Govind Ballabh Pant Project. GB Pant Sagar or Rihand Dam, located on the Rihand River in Sonbhadra district of UP, is the second largest dam in the country in terms of storage capacity.
Its promoter, NTPC, plans to achieve 60,000 MW or 60 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2032. In 2022, the 100 MW Ramagundam Floating Solar Power Project was commissioned, the largest floating solar project in India. In August, NTPC Renewable Energy Ltd emerged as the successful bidder for the 80 MW floating solar project at Omkareshwar Reservoir in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh.
Floating solar projects are rapidly gaining popularity as they reduce the land acquisition challenges and problems faced by traditional land-based solar projects. The government is also considering policies to support such initiatives. In June, the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy extended its scheme for development of solar parks and ultra mega solar park projects to FY26, and expanded the scope of solar parks to include floating solar and hybrid power.
As for its thermal portfolio, Kumar said that out of the proposed 5.6 GW capacity, the state cabinet has given the green signal to set up two units of 800 MW each, which will require an investment of about Rs 18,000 crore.
As part of its efforts to diversify operations, the company is also exploring technologies for effective utilization of fly ash. We are developing a technology to make cement concrete roads by mixing ash with slake, a waste material from steel industries,” he said.
“Earlier there were challenges in terms of ash in power generation, but now it has become an asset. Now the ash is being used in cement production, road construction, other construction materials, even to rejuvenate the soil condition to increase the yield from black cotton soil. Therefore, electricity will now become a by-product and other utilities will increase,” he said.
Keeping in view the increasing demand, the company plans to install silos to collect ash at all its plants.
