NHPC seeks ISA membership, contributes 1st instalment of Rs 1 cr to alliance corpus

• NHPC is seeking to become a Corporate Member of the ISA to avail the benefits of its membership, an official statement said

• The membership will open up collaborative opportunities for NHPC with ISA's financial partners as syndicate/consortium to fund infrastructure projects

New Delhi: NHPC, which has diversified its portfolio to include solar power business, is now seeking membership with the ISA (International Solar Alliance) and has contributed Rs 1 crore to the alliance in this regard. "NHPC has contributed an amount of Rs 1 crore to ISA Corpus Fund as part of first installment. NHPC is seeking to become a Corporate Member of the ISA to avail the benefits of its membership. NHPC's membership will open up collaborative opportunities with World Bank, ADB, AIIB, EIB, EBRD, AfDB, NDB and GCF (ISA's financial partners) as syndicate/ consortium to fund infrastructure projects," the power PSU said in an official statement on Wednesday.

ISA membership will help NHPC access low-cost fund

"NHPC will also have access to low-cost fund from solar bonds to be raised by ISA knowledge partners, such as the London Stock Exchange, among others. The membership will give NHPC new financing opportunities in emerging markets of ISA member countries and will facilitate its entry. Becoming a Corporate Member of the ISA would pave the way for NHPC to mark its presence in other countries in the near future," the statement said. 

NHPC will also be joining the Annual Conclave of ISA Corporate Partners and will get an opportunity to shape the ISA policies, programmes, activities and functions that could further supplement its own policies, it added. The bank advice of contribution was presented to Upendra Tripathy, IAS, Director General, ISA by RK Jaiswal, Executive Director (Renewable Energy), NHPC on Wednesday.

The backdrop

NHPC has already ventured into the realm of Renewable Energy with a commissioned capacity of 100 MW. It is all set to develop new renewable energy projects of 7,500 MW in the coming two to three years. NHPC recently conducted successful e-auction for 2,000 MW solar projects. Out of this, NHPC has issued Letters of Award (LoA) to solar power developers for interstate transmission system (ISTS) grid-connected photovoltaic projects, aggregating to 1,600 MW installed capacity.

NHPC is also in advance talks with state governments and Union Territories, like Telangana, Odisha, Rajasthan and Leh, to explore the possibility of setting up more than 4,000 MW of solar power projects. The PSU is accordingly exploring the viability of developing various RE projects in different commercially viable models such as hydropower projects blended with solar power, pumped storage projects in remote, areas with solar power in pumping mode and floating solar project. NHPC has planned to add 10,000 MW solar power under various schemes of MNRE, in addition to hydro capacity addition of 5,000 MW by 2025.