NTPC plans its 3rd solar plant in Haryana
National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), India's largest electricity generator, has begun construction of its third solar power plant, which will help mitigate the risk of fuel shortages faced by its coal-fired projects. The utility awarded the contract to build the 5 MW plant at Jhajru village in the northern state of Haryana to Eversun Energy, NTPC said. Enmas GP Power System Projects will connect the plant to the grid. NTPC, which has completed a 5 MW solar plant at Dadri in Uttar Pradesh and another of similar capacity at Port Blair in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, has an additional 85 MW under construction. The plants will help NTPC broaden its generation mix to ensure long-run competitiveness and mitigate fuel risks. NTPC, which has 41,000 MW of mostly coal-fired capacity, has been forced to increase its purchases of expensive coal imports due to domestic fuel shortages. The utility plans to develop 1,000 MW of renewable by 2017.