The Hindu Business Line : NTPC, GE Energy, ADB in pact for renewables venture

New Delhi, Aug. 5 State-owned generation major NTPC Ltd has joined hands with the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB), GE Energy Financial Services, Kyushu Electric Power Co and Brookfield Renewable Power to form a joint venture firm to undertake renewable power generation.

The companies on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to form the join venture firm, in which NTPC will initially take a 40 per cent stake while the remaining would be equally shared by other entities.

The proposed venture will, over the next three years, develop “greenfield and underutilised sites” for a portfolio of about 500 MW of renewable power generation resources in India, it said. The company would seek to develop projects in the country and may consider investing abroad in the near future. No financial details were disclosed.

A senior company official had, earlier, told Business Line that NTPC aims to invest up to Rs 6,000 crore in creating nearly 1,000 MW of renewable energy capacity over the next 10 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 made a foray, the key thrust area would be wind energy. Other areas where NTPC is eyeing opportunities include micro-hydel projects, geo-thermal energy and small biomass projects, officials said.

NTPC’s partners in the venture, GE Energy Financial Services is a unit of General Electric and invests in energy and water projects while Brookfield Renewable Power, owned by Brookfield Asset Management, focuses on hydroelectric generating stations in Canada, the United States and Brazil.