India’s publicly-owned lignite mining and power generation company NLC India Limited, formerly Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited, has announced commencement of construction activities at its third solar power project of 65 MW capacity at Neyveli.
This announcement was made by Sarat Kumar Acharya, Chairman and Managing Director of NLC India Limited to formally kick-start the construction activities on 65 MW solar project. The power plant will be built on an area of 325 acres and would entail an investment of Rs 350 crores (US$52 million). The project is expected to be commissioned in first week of June 2017.
The project will consist of approximately 238,000 solar photovoltaic modules with power generating capacity between 280-310 watts each. Electricity generated from the project will be fed to Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco). The engineering, procurement and construction for the project has being undertaken by Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited (BHEL).
The construction of this project is part of company’s ambitious plan to establish 4,000 MW of solar power capacity in the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana and Rajasthan. These projects would be implemented under the National Solar Mission scheme announced by the central government.
The company has been slowly increasing its renewable energy portfolio. The company’s first solar project of 10 MW capacity got commissioned in September last year. Also, construction for the second solar power project with a capacity of 65 MW commenced in July this year. Jakson Engineering Limited is the engineering, procurement and commissioning contractor of the second solar power project.
