India’s strategy of showcasing its green energy credentials abroad has gained traction, with state-run NTPC Ltd securing a raft of project contracts under the aegis of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) in Cuba, Niger and Malawi to help set up solar projects to meet their electricity demand. NTPC has been awarded the project management consultancy (PMC) contract for setting up 900 megawatt (MW) solar projects in Cuba. It has also secured contracts in Malawi and Niger to set up 100MW and 50MW solar capacity, respectively. These are the countries after Mali (500MW) and Togo (285MW) where India’s largest power generation utility has been awarded the PMC contracts via ISA, the first treaty-based inter-government organization headquartered in India.
NTPC is also eyeing similar opportunities in other ISA member countries in Africa such as Sudan, Congo, Mozambique, Egypt, Uganda, Rwanda, Gambia, Tanzania, Senegal and Zimbabwe. It is targeting the setting up of 10 gigawatts (GW) capacity in ISA member countries. NTPC also aims to bid for solar power projects in African countries. This assumes significance given the aggressive bids quoted by the firm in the recent solar auctions in India. Of the 650 million people expected to be without energy access in 2030, a majority are likely to be from Africa. NTPC has been endorsed by the ISA as project management consultant (PMC)/solar project developer to ISA member countries in November 2019 through a transparent and competitive process of Swiss Challenge. Under this endorsement, NTPC and ISA have been jointly approaching member countries for collaboration in the implementation of solar parks and projects in these countries.