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NTPC signs PPA with 247Solar to test round-the-clock solar thermal power

NTPC signs PPA with 247Solar to test round-the-clock solar thermal power

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India's largest utility pilots advanced CSP at Bhadla Solar Park to cut coal reliance

Yesterday: NTPC signs PPA with 247Solar for CSP pilot

Overview

Updated 1 hour ago

India's largest electric utility has signed a power purchase agreement with a Virginia startup to test a solar plant that generates electricity around the clock. The deal, announced October 15, is the first commercial project for 247Solar's concentrated solar power (CSP) technology.

The pilot at Rajasthan's Bhadla Solar Park pairs a 400-kilowatt modular CSP plant with several hundred kilowatts of photovoltaic panels. If it works, NTPC could deploy the technology across India to cut coal reliance while meeting rising power demand.

Why it matters

If CSP delivers round-the-clock power at competitive cost, India can cut coal without sacrificing grid reliability.

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Key Indicators

50%
CSP share of India's renewable tender
India's 2024 renewable tender required over half of capacity from concentrated solar power.
1 MW
Pilot project size
The Bhadla pilot pairs a 400-kW 247Solar plant with several hundred kW of photovoltaic panels.
20 hours
Thermal storage duration
247Solar stores heat in ceramic pellets for up to 20 hours, enabling overnight generation.
1,530 MW
Uttar Pradesh's firm renewable deal with NTPC
UP's regulator approved procurement of 1,530 MW of firm, dispatchable renewable energy from NTPC.

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People Involved

Organizations Involved

Timeline

2024 October 2026

5 events Latest: Yesterday
Tap a bar to jump to that date
  1. NTPC signs PPA with 247Solar for CSP pilot

    Latest Deal

    NTPC signs a power purchase agreement with 247Solar for a 1 MW hybrid CSP pilot at Bhadla Solar Park, the company's first commercial project.

  2. UP regulator approves state's largest firm renewable deal

    Regulatory

    UPERC approves UPPCL's procurement of 1,530 MW of firm renewable power from NTPC, the state's largest such deal.

  3. Uttar Pradesh and NTPC sign 1,530 MW power supply agreement

    Deal

    UPPCL and NTPC sign a power supply agreement for 1,530 MW of firm, dispatchable renewable energy.

  4. Serentica signs PPA with NTPC for 200 MW firm power

    Deal

    Serentica Renewables signs a PPA with NTPC to supply 200 MW of firm, dispatchable renewable energy to Uttar Pradesh.

  5. India plans renewable tender with 50% CSP carve-out

    Policy

    India announces a renewable tender requiring over half of capacity from concentrated solar power, the largest CSP carve-out ever.

Scenarios

1

NTPC expands 247Solar across India after pilot success

Possible Resolves by End of 2028

Discussed by: POWER Magazine, 247Solar

The 1 MW pilot at Bhadla generates round-the-clock power as designed. NTPC officials said success would likely enable expansion of 247Solar's technology across India, giving the utility a new tool to cut coal reliance while meeting rising demand.

2

Pilot underperforms, NTPC declines to expand

Possible Resolves by End of 2028

Discussed by: Analysts skeptical of CSP economics

The pilot fails to deliver expected output or proves uneconomic against photovoltaic panels paired with battery storage. NTPC does not expand, and the technology remains a niche demonstration rather than a grid-scale solution.

3

India's CSP tender carve-outs scale the technology regardless

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: SolarPACES, Indian renewable developers

India's 50% CSP carve-out in renewable tenders drives CSP deployment at scale, with or without the 247Solar pilot. Developers build CSP with thermal storage to meet firm power requirements, and the carve-out pushes costs down through volume.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

May 2011

Gemasolar (2011)

Spain's Gemasolar plant near Seville became the first commercial CSP plant to use molten salt thermal storage. The 19.9 MW plant can generate electricity for 15 hours after the sun sets, running around the clock in summer.

Then

Proved that solar thermal with storage could deliver firm, dispatchable power, not just daytime electricity.

Now

Became the reference design for CSP with storage, though high costs limited replication.

Why this matters now

247Solar's system is a successor to this concept, replacing molten salt with ceramic pellets and simplifying the design.

February 2014

Ivanpah Solar (2014)

California's Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System opened in the Mojave Desert. The $2.2 billion, 392 MW power tower plant was the largest CSP facility of its kind, backed by a 25-year power purchase agreement with California utilities.

Then

The plant underperformed due to cloud cover and produced less power than expected, while costs ran high.

Now

Soured investors on first-generation CSP and contributed to a slowdown in new US CSP projects.

Why this matters now

Shows the failure mode 247Solar claims to fix with its modular, simplified design and thermal storage.

Sources

(6)