The Hindu Business Line : NTPC eyeing joint venture with ABB

Company plans
To invest Rs 6,000 cr for setting up 1,000 MW of renewable energy capacity.
NTPC wants to set up wind energy capacity of around 250 MW.

New Delhi June 19 Power major NTPC Ltd is looking at getting into a joint venture with ABB for its foray into power generation from renewables, particularly the wind energy sector. The company is in talks with ABBand a tie-up could be on the anvil, the Government sources said.

As per its corporate plan, NTPC has lined up plans to invest Rs 6,000 crore for setting up 1,000 MW of renewable energy capacity over the next ten years. The move could potentially transform the thermal major into the country's largest green power producer in the coming years.

Besides the hydro sector, where the company plans to invest a bulk of its renewable energy resources and has already marked a foray, the key thrust area would be wind energy. NTPC plans to set up wind energy capacity of around 250 MW, with the first project likely to be a 50 MW wind farm.

Independent supplier

ABB is one of the world's largest independent suppliers of internal components, controls and grid connections for wind-generated power projects. Since the eighties, the company has delivered more than 15,000 wind turbine generators. The company's product mix for wind turbines includes generators, converters, transformers, switchgear, low voltage products, motors and cables.

According to sources, NTPC is likely to go in for onshore wind power projects in the first phase, with the possibility of offshore wind farms expected to be looked at subsequently, sources added. Locations along the country's western and southern coastlines are considered ideal for setting up wind farms and NTPC is currently evaluating possible locations for the first project.

While wind projects have short gestation periods of around a year, compared with projects based on conventional fuels such as coal that can take up to four years to build, high initial costs have been a deterrent for players.

India, the fourth largest wind power generator, is planning to double its wind power generation to 10,000 MW by the end of the current fiscal. The country's wind power generation capacity is estimated at 5,340 MW till March 2007.

Other areas where NTPC is eyeing opportunities include geo-thermal energy and small biomass projects, officials said. Capacities of around 30-50 MW from geothermal power projects and 35 MW from small biomass and solar sources are on the anvil. NTPC's current total capacity of 27,000 MW is generated entirely from coal and gas.