NLC India Limited : Towards Greener Tomorrow

By Prasanna Kumar Motupalli | Chairman & Managing Director | NLC India Limited

India’s premier Public Sector Enterprise:

NLC India Limited, a Navratna Central Public Sector Undertaking under the Ministry of Coal, has been a pioneer in the energy sector for over six decades. Since its inception in 1956, the company has made significant contributions to lignite and coal production and thermal and renewable energy generation. With its preliminary existence in Tamilnadu, NLC India Limited is now having a pan-India presence, operating in multiple states, including Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Gujarat, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

Greener Mining:

As a front runner in the energy sector, NLCIL operates three opencast Lignite Mines with a total installed capacity of 28 million Tonnes Per Annum (MTPA) at Neyveli with another opencast Lignite Mine at Barsingsar in Rajasthan with an installed capacity of 2.10 MTPA. Further, NLCIL operates an open cast coal mine at Talabira in Odisha with an installed capacity of 20 MTPA. Presently, Neyveli Uttar Pradesh Power Ltd. (NUPPL)- a joint venture of NLC India Limited and Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited is developing the Pachwara South Coal Block of 9 MTPA capacity in Jharkhand. In pursuit of augmenting Coal mining capacity in line with its corporate plan to achieve 102+ MTPA by 2030, NLCIL won the North Dhadu (Western Part) of 3 MTPA Capacity Coal block in Jharkhand under Commercial Coal block auctioning and in the recent commercial coal mine auctions, NLCIL bagged a coal mine at Machhakata (30 MTPA) and New Patrapara South Coal Mine, both in Odisha. With Specialized Mining Equipment (SME), NLCIL mines are embracing sustainable practices for a greener tomorrow.

Excellence in Thermal Power Generation:

NLCIL is also operating 4 Lignite based pit-head Thermal Power Stations with an aggregate capacity of 3390 Mega Watt (MW) at Neyveli, Tamil Nadu, and one 250 MW Lignite Thermal Power Station (BTPS) at Barsingsar, Rajasthan. NTPL, a joint venture of TANGEDCO and NLCIL, is operating 1000 MW coal-based thermal plant in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu.

NLCIL has big dreams to become a 20 GW company by 2030. Towards realizing this dream, NLCIL is already in expansion mode. NLCIL’s JV with the Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (UPRVUNL) is setting up a 3×660 MW coal-based supercritical Thermal Power Station at Ghatampur in UP and its Unit1 commenced commercial operation on 12.12.2024. The addition of the Ghatampur unit has taken the NLC group’s total installed generation capacity to 6,731MW.

This Power Plant has full PPA to supply power to UP and Assam. In Odisha at Sambalpur, Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for NLC India Limited’s (NLCIL) 2,400-megawatt ultra-supercritical Thermal power plant on February 3, 2024. In October 2024, (NLCIL) has announced its decision to form two joint ventures (JV) with Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (RRVUNL) which will focus on setting up a lignite-based thermal power station and establishing Renewable Energy (RE) projects in Rajasthan. 

Embracing Renewable Energy for Sustainable Future:

NLCIL also ventured into the renewable energy sector as early as 2011. Presently, the company is operating 1380 MW of Solar Power Plants in various Districts of Tamilnadu and Andaman & Nicobar Islands and 51 MW Wind Power Plant in Tirunelveli district of Tamilnadu. NLCIL is the first CPSE to cross 1GW capacity in Solar Power Generation in the country. Now the company has become a member of the International Solar Alliance (ISA). NLCIL is aiming to achieve a total Renewable energy capacity of 10 GW by 2030.

NLCIL plans to install several Solar/Wind Power Projects in various parts of the Country. A wholly Owned Subsidiary Company, “NLC India Renewables Limited” (NIRL) was incorporated on 14.06.2023 to take over the existing renewable assets of NLCIL. On 13th October 2023, NLC India Green Energy Limited (NIGEL), a wholly owned subsidiary of NLCIL was incorporated to drive the future renewable energy projects of NLCIL. The company had been an early bird in embracing the sustainability concept through Renewable energy capacity. Initiatives like Battery Energy Storage System for smoothening the power output of solar project at Andaman are one of a kind in the Nation.

Currently, establishing a 50 MW Solar project in the mined-out land in Neyveli is an initiative that addresses sustainability and effective repurposing of mined-outland. Not just Mining and Power Generation, NLCIL is also contributing significantly to the sustainable development goals while striving for Net Zero.

“Thermal sector will stay strong in India’s Energy transition and future Energy Mix”

(Shilpa Bichitra | Special Edition | 2024)