Mumbai, 10th March 2024: Hon’ble Minister of Power and New & Renewable Energy, Shri R K Singh and Hon’ble Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Dr. Virendra Kumar together laid the foundation stone for Barethi Solar Power Project of NTPC REL in Madhya Pradesh on 10th March, 2024.
Located at Barethi RE Park in Chhatarpur District of Madhya Pradesh, the 630-MW solar project entails an investment of Rs 3,200 Crore and would be sufficient to light over 3 lakh households upon completion. It is being developed as part of MNRE RE Park under UMREPP Mode-8.
A step towards sustainable power generation, the project will reduce 12 lakh tons of CO2 emission annually, thereby helping in achieving country’s climate commitments and green energy targets.
Commissioning of this project will not only supply green power to the grid, but will also ensure affordable power to the beneficiaries. Meanwhile, the construction of the project is helping in creation of direct and indirect employment opportunities in the region.
On the occasion, Hon’ble Minister of Power and New & Renewable Energy spoke about the need to keep adding further power capacity in line with the growing power demand. He said “Ours is the fastest growing large economy in the world and our power demand too is growing fast. We need to add more power capacity to meet the growing demand. The Barethi solar power project is very important since it is 630 MW and further it is clean energy”. He further said that “NTPC is among the world’s biggest power companies which is setting up renewable energy plants in addition to thermal plants”.
Addressing the occasion, Hon’ble Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment said “Barethi Solar Power Project will help power the development of the region. He also mentioned that besides setting up solar power plants, the government is also promoting the use of solar power in agriculture.”
Shri Rajesh Kumar Shukla, MLA (Bijavar); Smt Lalita Yadav, MLA, (Chattarpur); and Shri Arvind Pateria, MLA (Rajnagar) were present at the programme. Shri Gurdeep Singh, CMD NTPC also graced the occasion virtually along with senior officials from MoP, Govt of Madhya Pradesh, and NTPC Limited.
NTPC Limited is India’s largest integrated power utility having 75+ GW installed capacity that contributes 25% of total electricity demand in India. By 2032, NTPC is looking to expand its non-fossil based capacity to 45-50% of the company’s portfolio that will include 60 GW RE capacity with a total portfolio of 130 GW.