According to NTPC , the 230MW Ettayapuram solar PV project is being developed under the Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) scheme Phase-II Tranche-I of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
As per the conditions in the CPSU scheme, the project employs domestic photo-voltaic modules and cells and receives the Viability Gap Funding from the Ministry, the company added.
The project was won by NTPC through the Viability Gap Funding ( VGF ) based competitive bidding done by Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd in 2019. It is developed through Larsen and Toubro under EPC, NTPC Renewable Energy Ltd said on its website.
According to Union Ministry of Finance press release sources Under VGF scheme the Union Government will provide a maximum of 40% of the Total Project Cost of the Project. In addition, it may provide a maximum of 25% of Operational Costs of the project in first five years of commercial operations. Since the inception in 2006 of the scheme, 64 projects have been accorded ‘final approval’ with Total Project Cost of Rs. 34,228 crore and VGF of Rs. 5,639 crore. Till the end of Financial Year 2019-20, VGF of Rs. 4,375 crore has been disbursed.
“Consequent to successful commissioning, first part capacity of 162.27 MW out of the 230 MW Ettayapuram Solar PV project at Tamil Nadu is declared on commercial operation with effect from 12 noon, December 12,” NTPC said in a BSE filing on Saturday.
With this, the standalone installed and commercial capacity of NTPC Ltd has become 57,801.27 MW while the group installed capacity grew to 70,416.27 MW, the company said on Saturday.
The Ettayapuram plant is spread over about 900 acres and uses about 10.5 lakh solar panels, all of Indian origin. Drone-based digital technologies were extensively used during plant construction, for surveillance and monitoring.
In the Union Budget for FY 2023, the country’s solar sector, which was recently named fifth among the world’s most attractive solar markets by IBEF, received the highest-ever outlay of Rs. 33.7 billion, up 30% from Rs. 26 billion in FY21.
