Patna: In line with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for achieving the clean energy targets in India, the US-based Holtec International, a nuclear waste energy and advance solar energy provider, plans to set up a 100-MW solar power plant with an investment of Rs 2,200 crore in Nawada district of Bihar. The proposed plant will be based on concentrated solar power and green boiler and there is no involvement of any battery, a top official privy to the development told Financial Chronicle on Thursday.
Holtec International, a US-based $14 billion company, which is into nuclear waste energy and advance solar energy, is a supplier of equipment and systems for the energy industry. It also specialises in the design and manufacture of parts for nuclear reactors all over the world. "Holtec has given a proposal to the Bihar government for installation of a 100 MW solar energy power plant with an investment of Rs 2,200 crore in the Nawada district of the state," said Raj Dubey, advisor to Holtec International, at the sidelines of Bihar Business Connect 2023 here.
Dubey said that he has been working hard for a long time for the expansion of green energy in India. “Holtec brings ultra modern latest technology in the world relating to nuclear energy. The energy firm is keen to make India a hub for production of these equipment, relating to both nuclear and advanced solar project as well. We want India to be the centre for energy renaissance in the world," Dubey said.
Emphasising the green and clean energy in the country, recently Union minister of power RK Singh also informed that so far, 72.02 GW of solar power projects have been installed. "The government has set a target of achieving 500 GW of installed capacity from non-fossil fuels by 2030, in line with the Prime Minister’s announcement at CoP-26, including from solar energy," he had stated.
Explaining the technology, Dubey however, said that even though the new technology solar power plant requires an investment 8-10 times higher than the existing solar energy technology for its installation, its self-life is still around 30-40 years, much bigger than that of the battery-based solar power plant. "The proposed plant will take 3-4 years to become operational. Once it became operational, it is all set to provide employment to 5,000 people in the state," he said.
He further said that the promoter of the company, KP Singh, a US-based entrepreneur, who originally hails from Bihar, is very keen to go ahead with the investment plan on the state. "Singh has already hogged the limelight by having donated $1 million to the PM Relief Fund during Covid in the country. For this, he has already initiated discussion with the development commissioner of the state, Vivek Singh. The land measuring 550 acre will be needed for the installation of the plant," he said.
However, he added that the memorandum of understanding (MoU) is yet to be signed with the government. When asked about major hurdles the companies face about the project in Bihar, he said, "There are many reasons behind it. Acquisition of land is one of the big challenges in Bihar. The proposed plant requires a long-term power purchase agreement to be reached between the company and the state government. Once became fully operational, the nuclear waste-based plant is likely to make power available to the common man at the rate of Re 0.60 per unit," he said.
Dubey further said that India is keen for getting small and medium reactor or SMR technologies for generating nuclear energy, because it is clean energy, and hence the most cost effective source of power. "In fact, a paper was presented during the recently concluded G-20 summit. Interestingly, India wants to achieve 500 GW of clean energy from the current capacity of around 250 GW in future. More interestingly, from 2025 onwards India wants to add 50 GW of clean energy every year. The only way to achieve the goal is the nuclear energy," he added.
