NTPC, the country’s biggest public-sector power generation company, is planning to enter the renewable energy market, primarily focusing on wind energy.
NEW DELHI: National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), the country’s biggest public-sector power generation company, is planning to enter the renewable energy market, primarily focusing on wind energy.
T Sankralingam, chairman and managing director, NTPC, said: “NTPC is looking at developing a diversified portfolio over the next few years to reduce its dependence on coal and other depleting sources of energy.”
He was speaking to DNA Money on the sidelines of Power-Gen, a three-day international seminar on power currently on in New Delhi.
He said the company is planning to enter the renewable power sector and wants to see substantial capacity coming up by the end of 2017.
“Though the targets are not in place yet but we have made a decision to foray into the renewable field,” he said.
He said NTPC will be aiming to set up a wind power generation capacity of up to 500 MW by the end of 2013.
Sankralingam, however, declined to comment further.
He said the company is taking several steps towards diversification and has kept all options opened.
Diversifying into coal mining, power equipment manufacturing and tapping renewable sources are ways to increase the revenues and de-risk the business model.
Apart from the new initiatives, the company has planned mega thermal capacity expansion programmes under the XIth Five Year power generation plan of Government of India, which started in 2007 and will end by March 2012.
Out of the total 78,577 MW that the government is planning to add under the five-year plan, NTPC had set a target of 22,600 MW alone.
Though the company had been quite aggressive since beginning of 2007, but analysts feel it might miss the target, even if marginally.
Analysts Rajesh Panwani and Abhishek Tyagi from brokerage CLSA Asia Pacific Markets in a November 2007 note said: “NTPC plans to add 22GW generation capacity over the next five years. Of this, about 14GW is under construction with tenders invited for the rest.”
However, the targets might be marginally missed because of a delay in supply of equipments. The company is also targeting 47 million tonne of coal mining capacity by 2017. It had also signed a joint venture with Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (Bhel), which might help it in procuring equipment faster.
m_promit@dnaindia.net
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