NTPC Green declares commercial operation of additional 32.8 MW at Khavda Solar Energy Project
The first part capacity of 142.2 MW of aforesaid Solar Energy Project has already been declared on commercial operation w.e.f. 28 June 2025.
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Business Standard
3 days ago
- Business Standard
Growing pains: NTPC expansion spawns companies and CEOs in equal measure
Think of an Indian public sector company that is in the energy business, so to speak, but is increasingly establishing a presence in all manner of renewable energy sectors, with no less than 36 companies under its umbrella. That would be NTPC, likely the largest conglomerate in the public sector. What's more, it will now focus only on downstream ventures in energy - bar NTPC Mining, which digs the coal for its vast network of thermal power plants. The diversification into RE also means that NTPC will no longer be bound by a single ministry, a position no other major state-owned company in India has straddled, be it LIC, ONGC, SBI, or Coal India. This effectively makes NTPC, the country's largest energy producer, stand for NTPC Group of companies. In fact, the NTPC name now pops up in nuclear enterprises, green companies of all shades including solar, wind and even tidal, coal mining, critical mineral mining, and green hydrogen, among others. The latest to join the list could be green chemicals. If one were to look at the numbers NTPC has birthed a new company every single year for the past 10 years. To take on these burgeoning business possibilities, the energy behemoth has also begun to form joint ventures (JV) with state governments (see chart), and is in talks with others. With consolidated gross fixed assets of Rs 4.04 trillion, NTPC is almost co-terminus with India's energy supply footprint. Unlike private sector players, such as L&T, India's state-owned companies typically do not have such a range of subsidiaries or JVs. One of the reasons for their reticence has been the delays involved in the process for most projects. For PSUs, approvals must be obtained from the finance ministry's department of investment and public asset management (Dipam), which often means getting the Union Cabinet's nod as well. The other is fiscal comfort, since investors get access to the balance sheet of the parent company. Bucking the trend, NTPC created Green Energy Ltd with a simple Board approval as a way to occupy the space between the mother company and the older NTPC Renewables. What's more, NTPC Green Energy's chief executive officer, Sarit Maheshwari, does not sit on the company's Board, an unusual management structure for a state-owned company. The innovation has helped. NTPC Green is now itself a parent with six companies in its fold. The company is on course to raise finance, possibly at even better terms than NTPC, to steer the plans of the Group to develop 60 GW of RE by early next decade. A Reuters report earlier this month noted that NTPC Green Energy will make its debut in the bond market, raising upwards of Rs 20 billion through five-year bonds. While the rates are not yet public, they are likely to be better than NTPC would get as a coal-based power producer. Once the decision is made to foray into green chemicals (atoms that do not create pollution), the name of the company could be broadened accordingly, a company source said. Do these surfeit of companies make the span of control within the group difficult? It is a question that Gurdeep Singh, chairman of NTPC for almost a decade now, considers often. Financing made easy Singh acknowledges that one of the reasons for setting up separate companies instead of incorporating them as divisions within the mothership was finance. There was the need to create space to invest within the relative financial rigidity under which state owned companies operate in India. The step-down process or JVs allows these companies to raise money on their balance sheet, without necessarily using the NTPC signage. Another reason is that the chase for new opportunities in India's difficult energy market has its own costs. For instance, owning NTPC Mining to mine coal is a peculiar venture for a power company to be involved in, since it then needs to straddle both ends of the supply chain. At 46 million metric tonnes (MMT) of extraction in FY25, it is on track to become the second largest government miner after Coal India and possibly more efficient. But the mines supplied only about 15 per cent of NTPC's total coal needs for its 53 GW of thermal plant capacity. To wit, NTPC would have been better off hiving off the business to a specialist mine development/operator company. But the mining unit is unlisted, and unlike Green Energy Ltd, would likely see muted investor interest. Not surprisingly, the NTPC stock has consequently underperformed the market for a long time, despite having a rating equivalent to India's sovereign grade. Bank of America Securities has only recently upgraded the company from 'underperform' to 'neutral', citing valuation correction. The securities firm noted NTPC has trailed the Nifty index by 21 per cent and other defensive sectors, including IT, pharmaceuticals, and consumer staples, by 10-20 per cent since August 2024. Adopting a culture of risk 'Creating the human resources hunger for performance has been one of my biggest challenges for these ventures,' says Singh. Becoming CEOs of these downstream companies meant prodding the officers to take risks, something that a public-sector culture doesn't exactly promote. 'The company now regularly sends officials to be picked up by the Public Sector Enterprises Board as chief executives of other companies," he says, noting that this was most unusual a few years ago. The creation of subsidiaries has helped, given the circumstances, and is most evident in the latest: NTPC Parmanu Urja Nigam Limited, established January 2025 as a wholly-owned subsidiary to explore advanced nuclear technologies, including pressurised water reactors, small modular reactors and fast breeder reactors. The company already operates under a company in this space, Ashvini, a JV with NPCIL established in FY25, and which is building the Mahi Banswara Rajasthan Atomic Power Project, comprising four 700 MW reactors. Singh is unwilling to commit if the two companies will be merged in the future. But he is clear that he will not get into the business of manufacturing nuclear products, even though the best margin lies in manufacturing them in what is an intensely capital-intensive business. After all, there remain some constraints in being the chief of a state-run company, even one as large as NTPC: some decisions are still made outside of New Delhi's NTPC Bhawan.
Business Standard
5 days ago
- Business Standard
Insolation Energy announces incorporation of step-down subsidiary
Insolation Energy announced that Insolation Green Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, has incorporated a new subsidiary, namely MGVJ Green Infra on 10 August 2025. The MGVJ Green Infra will carry on the Business of Solar Power Plant Development, erection, installation, establishment, construction, operation and maintenance, and Consultancy of any renewable Energy Power Plants. Design, Supply, Erection, Testing and Commissioning including comprehensive Operation and Maintenance (O&M) of Rooftop Solar (RTS) photovoltaic power Projects.
Economic Times
07-08-2025
- Economic Times
Industry sees boost from low green ammonia prices
Synopsis India's first green ammonia auctions have delivered significantly lower prices, giving a push to the country's clean hydrogen plans. NTPC Renewable Energy, ACME Cleantech, and Oriana Power won bids to supply a total of over 200,000 tonnes annually at ₹51.80–₹55.75 per kg under the SIGHT scheme. IANS The low prices for green ammonia, a derivative of green hydrogen, discovered in initial tenders for supply to fertiliser producers provides a much-needed boost and renews focus on its long-term potential, industry experts said. NTPC Renewable Energy won the bid to supply 70,000 tonnes of green ammonia annually at ₹51.80/kg (about $0.62/kg) while ACME Cleantech won the contract for 75,000 tonnes at ₹55.75/kg (around $0.67/kg). Oriana Power will supply 60,000 tonnes. These prices were discovered in reverse auctions for three of the 13 fertiliser units under the Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT) scheme. Demand for these units was aggregated by Solar Energy Corporation of India at 724,000 tonnes of green ammonia annually. Auctions for the remaining units will continue till this month-end, said a government official."The recent winning auctions for green ammonia and the low price bode well for Indian green hydrogen ecosystem," said Hemant Mallya, fellow, Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW).SECI termed the bids as "globally competitive record-low price", setting new benchmarks for green hydrogen derivatives worldwide. NTPC's price translates to $591/tonne, Acme at $641/tonne and Oriana at $596.23/tonne. Though not directly comparable, the price discovered in the last tender a year ago was at $1,153/tonne on cost and freight (CFR) basis in the H2Global ammonia prices, which are currently trending lower than the clean or green variant, is at about $400/tonne, though it had reached $515/tonne in March, according to industry experts."The competitive tariffs discovered in these auctions are driven by decline in cost of renewable power (including energy storage), electrolysers as well as available Production Linked Incentive (PLI)," said Pranav Master, senior practice leader and director - energy & sustainability at Crisil Intelligence. "These tariffs imply a premium of 15%-25% to grey ammonia, marking a rapid convergence," he added.
