Steel Authority of India Ltd. and NTPC-SAIL Power Co. Pvt. Ltd. on Tuesday inaugurated Chhattisgarh’s first floating solar power plant, marking a milestone in the state’s clean energy drive.

The 15-megawatt facility was built on the Maroda-1 reservoir at Bhilai Steel Plant. Spanning 80 acres and costing ₹1.11 billion ($13 million), the project is expected to generate 34.25 million units of electricity annually. It will cut carbon dioxide emissions by 28,400 tons and save 23,000 tons of coal annually.

The inauguration was led by SAIL-BSP Director in-charge Chitta Ranjan Mohapatra and Finance Director Ashok Kumar Panda, alongside NSPCL executives and senior officials.

Push for Renewable Energy in Steel

Mohapatra called the initiative a landmark step in meeting BSP’s energy needs and announced plans for a second floating plant at the nearby Maroda-2 reservoir.

“Solar energy ensures a greener future for generations to come,” he said.

Panda stressed the role of renewable energy in steel, a sector known for its emissions.

“Solar power is abundant and must be leveraged for India’s decarbonisation journey,” he added, warning that floating plants must withstand storms and heavy rains.

Strengthening green steel goals

NSPCL Chief Executive Diwakar Kaushik hailed the collaboration between SAIL and NTPC. The project was conceived by BSP’s power facilities team in 2024 and executed with Madhav Infra Projects Ltd. and Quant Solar as partners.

Officials said that the plant will reduce water evaporation in the reservoir, create jobs and strengthen Bhilai’s position in green energy. It forms part of SAIL’s Green Steel initiative, which aims at achieving low-carbon and sustainable production.

Sustainable Steel Partnership

Last November, SAIL signed a memorandum of understanding with John Cockerill India Ltd. to advance sustainable steel technologies. The deal covered cold rolling and processing for carbon steel, as well as silicon steel, including cold-rolled grain-oriented, or CRGO, and non-oriented grades used in energy-efficient transformers.

The agreement was signed by SAIL Finance Director Anil Kumar Tulsiani and JCIL Metals Division Managing Director Michael Kotas. Both companies stated that the collaboration will integrate cleaner technologies into iron and steelmaking, reduce emissions and enhance resource efficiency.

SAIL said that the dual push to investing in solar power projects while partnering with global technology players emphasized its strategy to align with India’s decarbonization goals and position itself at the forefront of low-carbon steel production.

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Nirmal Menon

Nirmal Menon is a journalist with more than 20 years of experience covering business and technology for mainstream publications in India and abroad. In his previous role, he served as business desk editor at Arab News. He is currently the editor of ESG Times. He can be reached at nirmal.menon@esgtimes.in.