NLC India Limited, a prominent Navratna Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSE) under the Ministry of Coal, has successfully secured the rights for the development of a substantial 810 MW Solar PV project in the state of Rajasthan. This achievement is the result of NLCIL’s victory in securing the entire capacity of the 810 MW tender initiated by Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Nigam Limited (RRVUNL) in December 2022. The chosen location for this project is within RRVUNL’s 2000 MW Ultra Mega Solar Park situated in Pugal Tehsil, Bikaner District, Rajasthan, and the official Letter of Intent for this project has been issued by RRVUNL.
The necessary land for the project and the power evacuation system, connected to the State Transmission Utility (STU), will be provided by RVUNL, which is expected to expedite the project’s completion timeline. Remarkably, this initiative represents the company’s most extensive renewable project to date, significantly augmenting Rajasthan’s power project capacity to 1.36 GW, which includes 1.1 GW of green power.
This substantial expansion brings about economies of scale and optimized fixed costs, strengthening the region’s renewable energy sector. Leveraging the abundant solar radiation resources in Rajasthan, the project is designed to achieve a higher Capacity Utilisation Factor (CUF), potentially yielding over 50 billion units of green power. Over the project’s lifetime, it is anticipated to offset more than 50,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, making a significant contribution to environmental sustainability.
NLC India Limited is currently involved in several other noteworthy solar projects, including a 50 MW Solar project on reclaimed land, a 200 MW Solar project under the Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) scheme across India, a 300 MW Solar project under the CPSU Scheme in Barsingsar, Bikaner District, and a 600 MW Solar project in the Khavda Solar project in Bhuj District, Gujarat.
Prasanna Kumar Motupalli, CMD of NLC India Limited, emphasized the company’s pioneering role as the first CPSU to install 1 GW of Renewable Energy (RE) capacity. Presently, the company is actively engaged in developing 2 GW of RE capacity nationwide, including this project. Their ambitious goal is to expand this capacity to over 6 GW by 2030, aligning with the Indian Government’s commitment to bolstering RE capacity in the country.