Coal India on Monday said it planned to set up 3GW solar power capacity by 2023-24 at an estimated investment of Rs 5,650 crore.

A total of 14 rooftop and ground mounted solar power projects are planned as part of the efforts of the company to diversify and manage its energy costs.

Of the proposed investment, Rs 3,650 crore will be funded from Coal India’s own capital expenditure till 2023-24 and the remaining amount will be met through joint ventures of the public sector miner.

Coal India and NLC India have floated a joint venture company — Coal Lignite Urja Vikas Private Limited — to develop 1,000MW solar power projects. The joint venture company came into being earlier this month.

Coal India has also formed a joint venture with NTPC and has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Solar Energy Corporation of India for solar projects of 1,000MW each and the miner has initiated discussions with NTPC for the purchase of 140 MW of solar power under government’s CPSE scheme.

According to Coal India officials, the solar initiative would reduce the annual power consumption expense which was around Rs 3,400 crore in 2019-20, accounting for 4.4 per cent of expenses for the year.
Coal India has generated 4.6 million units of solar power from its existing projects in 2019-20 and 4.25 million units in 2018-19.