Coal India invites bids for 100 MW solar project

Coal India’s total annual Power requirement for production is around 4.5 billion units which would require setting up 3000 MW of solar power projects. To achieve its goal, the company has formed a joint venture with NLC India (NLCIL).

KOLKATA: Coal India has invited bids from developers for setting up a 100 MW solar power plant in Solar Power Developer and Operator mode in Chhattisgarh. It will cater to the green energy requirement of Coal India subsidiary of South Eastern Coalfields which consumes around 850 million units of power annually.

This is part of Coal India’s plan to emerge a net-zero energy company – an entity that generates its own green power. The Proposed Solar Project will be established in capex mode.

Coal India’s total annual Power requirement for coal production is around 4.5 billion units which would require setting up 3000 MW of solar power projects.

In order to achieve its goal, the company has formed a joint venture with NLC India (NLCIL), formerly Neyveli Lignite Corporation, to jointly set up 5000 MW of power generation capacity of which 3000 MW would be solar powered while the rest 2000 MW would be coal-fuelled.

CIL and NCIL has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for setting up a 50:50 joint venture company that would undertake the projects.

“Coal India has been tasked to become a net-zero emission energy company by ministry of coal, a move which requires it to generate 3,000 MW of solar power. The MoU, also extends for setting up of 2,000 MW of thermal power generation across CIL’s subsidiaries,” a senior Coal India official said.

Solar projects will be set up over 15,000 acres on identified barren and reclaimed free land of Coal India and also at locations where free land is available. Estimated cost for Coal India’s solar power generation is pegged at Rs 12,000 crore.

The projects will be financed through a debt-equity ratio of 70:30 as per the CERC norms. A concept paper has been initiated by both the companies to get clearance from their respective boards.

“This is a synergistic step, combining the resources of both the companies for a common goal. CIL will be riding the core technical expertise of NLCIL in thermal power generation and Solar PV Power,” a Coal India executive said.

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By Debjoy Sengupta