NTPC to replace its old plants -Governance Now

NTPC to replace its old plants

The plants would be replaced in five years with an investment of around Rs. 50,000 crore

GN Bureau | December 15, 2016

#NTPC #Piyush Goyal #UJALA #DDUGJY #power ministry #CSR

The nation has embarked on a mission to reduce India’s carbon footprint by phasing out all inefficient thermal power plants, older than 25 years, with modern energy efficient super critical ones, said union power minister Piyush Goyal who added that NTPC has already given the in-principle clearance to replace around 11,000 MW of its old, inefficient thermal power plants.

The plants would be replaced in about five years, with an investment of around Rs. 50,000 crores, he said.

Speaking at a function held to celebrate the 26th National Energy Conservation Day 2016 on Wednesday, Goyal said that the power ministry is in talks with the environment ministry for clearances, which should not be a problem as it is a huge step in increasing energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions.

The minister said that there are over 16,000 households in about 800 inaccessible villages in India which lack grid connectivity. The ministry would be providing, to each such household, a 300 KW Solar panel, 8-hour battery backup, 5 LED bulbs, an energy efficient ceiling fan and a solar power based mobile phone charging socket, all free of cost under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY).

All the companies under the power ministry, under their CSR initiatives, would be providing a solar power based television set to these households.

Informing about the progress of the UJALA LED scheme, the Shri Goyal said that according to the latest figures from UJALA dashboard, over 18.38 crore LED bulbs have been distributed by EESL and another 25 crore by private sector companies. This drive has witnessed an unthinkable reduction of around 88% in LED prices in just 20 months, which led to an annual saving of around Rs. 10,000 crores for the consumers. The savings would scale up to Rs. 40,000 crores in the next 3 years.

He said that Gujarat has become the first state in the country to replace all street lights with LED bulbs. He added that India is in talks with the neighboring countries to take the LED programme to them and become a leader in the Energy Efficiency Mission.

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