Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the 92MW floating solar plant of the National Thermal Power Corporation’s (NTPC) Rajiv Gandhi Combined Cycle Power Project at Kayamkulam, Kerala.

The Kayamkulam plant is the second-largest floating solar power project of the NTPC after the 100-MW plant at Ramagundam in Telangana.

The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone of the 735 MW Nokh Solar Project in Rajasthan, Green Hydrogen Mobility Project in Leh and Kawas Green Hydrogen Blending with Natural Gas project in Gujarat.

LEARNING FROM HOME/WITHOUT CLASSES/ BASICS

NTPC’s capacity addition program is in line with India’s commitment to the UN Climate Change Conference at Glasgow at COP-26. The power major’s goal is to achieve a non-fossil energy capacity of 500 GW by 2030 as part of NTPC’s UN Global compact commitment.

has been expanding its green footprints by powering renewable energy projects and aims to achieve over 60 gigawatts (GW) Renewable Energy (RE) capacity by 2032 accounting for 50 percent of its overall generation capacity. The RE mix includes Solar PV, Wind, Energy Storage, and Green Hydrogen including mobility.

India’s Bhadla Solar Park is the largest solar power park,in terms of operational capacity, in the world. Bhadla Solar Park is located in Bhadla, a dry and sandy region in Rajasthan, and spans 14,000 acres. There are over 10 million solar panels at the park, which contribute to an operational capacity of 2245MW.

World’s Largest Solar Park at Karnataka’s Pavagada is Now Fully Operational 2050 MV.

India’s National Solar Mission has the target of producing 20GW by the end of 2020. The mission was launched in 2010. The Mission targets installing 100 GW grid-connected solar power plants by the year 2022. This is in line with India’s Intended Nationally Determined Contributions(INDCs) target to achieve about 40 percent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel based energy resources and to reduce the emission intensity of its GDP by 33 to 35 percent from 2005 level by 2030.

              As of 31 March 2021, the total installed capacity for Renewables is 92+ GW with the following break up:

• Wind power: 39.24 GW
• Solar Power: 40 GW
• BioPower: 10.31 GW
• Small Hydro Power: 4.79 GW 

The Union Cabinet had given its approval to introduce the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme in High Efficiency Solar PV Modules for Enhancing India’s Manufacturing Capabilities and Enhancing Exports.

Solar Capacity Increased In The Last 7.5 Years From Around 2.6 Gw To More Than 46 Gw

Renewable Energy Has A Share Of 26.53% In The Total Installed Generation Capacity In The Country

India ranked third in renewable energy installations in 2021, after China and Russia, according to a global status report released on June 15. India installed 15.4 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy projects in 2021, the report titled Renewable Energy 2022: Global Status Report published by REN21 (Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century) said.

It ranked fourth in total solar installations (60.4 GW) for the year – overtaking Germany (59.2 GW) for the first time.