Singareni to Install 13 New Solar Power Plants of 240 MW Capacity

With a quest to become a ‘net zero’ firm in coming years, Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) will expand its solar power projects by 240 MW as part of the second phase of solar energy development. The firm  is owned by the Telangana Government.

Singareni is about to complete the first phase of solar energy development as 300 MW installation is about to complete. In a key meeting held by the CMD of the firm, N. Sridhar, it was decided to erect 13 solar plants in eight mining areas of Singareni. The DPRs of the solar projects were discussed and it was decided that post approval from the board, tenders will be issued.

The area where solar power plants will be developed by Singareni are: Sathupalli (35 MW), Srirampur-Chennur (27.5 MW), Mandamarri (65 MW), Thermal Power Plant (37.5 MW), Ramagundam 3 (41 MW) Bhupalpally (12 MW), Ramagundam 1 (5 MW) and Yellandu (15 MW).

Previous Solar Quest  

The first phase of solar projects is being developed by Singareni. It has already commissioned 224 MW and the remaining 76 MW capacity will soon be brought online. These make nine solar power installations and 224 MW is already helping Singareni to save about Rs 300 crore every year in energy bills.

Presently, Singareni is consuming about 750 million units of electricity annually that costs it about Rs 600 crore. The company began investing in solar power two years ago by solarising its mines, offices and residential structures. With the completion of both the phases of solar energy development, Singareni will be generating 810 million units of electricity of its own that is higher than its annual consumption.

Last year, Singareni– which is one of the key players in the energy sector in Telangana – said that it will establish a new capacity of 1000 MW of solar power plants in the state as it had submitted a proposal to the state government for the same.