GREEN HYDROGEN MICROGRID PROJECT

• Vaid's ICS, Lucknow
• 16, Dec 2021

Why in news?

NTPC Limited announced that India’s first Green Hydrogen Microgrid Projects will be set up at Simhadri near Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

• The projects will be a precursor to large-scale hydrogen energy storage projects and would be useful for studying and deploying multiple microgrids in various off-grid and strategic locations of the country.
• The hydrogen produced during sunshine hours will be stored at high pressure and electrified using a 50 Kilo Watt Solid Oxide Fuel Cell.
• The system will work in standalone mode from 5 PM in the evening to 7 AM in the morning.
• This unique project for India, will open doors for decarbonising the far-off regions of the country like Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir.

Green Hydrogen Mobility project:

• For a green hydrogen mobility project, NTPC Renewable Energy Limited (NTPC REL) has also signed a pact with Union territory of Ladakh.
• This project will be executed by NTPC in association with the NVVN.

How Green Hydrogen is produced?

Green hydrogen is produced by separating water into hydrogen and oxygen using an electrolyzer, which is powered by renewable energy sources like wind and solar. Green Hydrogen as fuel can be a game-changer for India’s energy security. India currently imports 85% of its oil and 53% of gas requirements.

Significance of the project:

• This project will act as a precursor to large scale hydrogen energy storage projects.
• It will also be useful to study and deploy multiple microgrids in several off-grid and strategic locations in India.
• This project has been designed in-house by NTPC.
• It would open doors for decarbonising the far-off regions in India like Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir (J&K).
• Project has been implemented in line with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to become carbon neutral by 2070 and make Ladakh a carbon-neutral territory.

Installed Capacity of NTPC:

• Across 70 power projects, NTPC has an installed capacity of around 67.907 GW. 18 GW projects are under construction.
• NTPC has aimed to generate 60 GW renewable energy capacity by 2032 from the current capacity of 4.7 GW.

Simhadri Super Thermal Power Plant

• It is a coal-fired power plant, established in Visakhapatnam city of Andhra Pradesh.
• It is one of the coal fired power plants of NTPC. Coal for this power plant is sourced from Kalinga Block of Talcher Coal fields in Odisha.
• It is a national asset, and power generated is shared between multiple states.

FACTS FOR PRELIMS:

VIHANGAM

An internet-based platform called ‘VIHANGAM’ integrated with a Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) at Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) was inaugurated on 1st September 2021.

The salient features of the said system are as under:

• The system consists of a Ground Control Station (GCS), an RPAS, internet lease line of 40 Mbps and VIHANGAM portal.
• It has been deployed at two opencast mines of MCL namely Bhubaneswari and Lingaraj initially on trial basis.
• The system enables real-time transmission of aerial video of mining activities from mines to internet platform which can be accessed through VIHANGAM portal by authorized personnel only having ID and password.