India's largest electric utility, NTPC Limited, formerly known as National Thermal Power Corporation, has signed a power purchase agreement with 247Solar, a Virginia-based company that has dramatically improved on the first generation of solar thermal technologies for generating round-the-clock clean electricity. The deployment will be 247Solar’s initial commercial project, a critical milestone for overcoming the intermittency of conventional clean energy technologies.  
 
India is racing to meet surging electricity demand, and its utilities have recently built coal capacity alongside solar and wind power to cover the gap left by photovoltaic panels      when the sun sets and during bad weather. NTPC will test whether 247Solar's system can close that gap and reduce the utility's reliance on coal. With the success of this project, its backers expect the utility to look at expanding the technology more broadly across India.
 
“This new version of solar thermal solves the problem of intermittent solar and wind power, and avoids spending more on outdated, costly, and dirty coal plants,” said Bruce Anderson, founder and CEO of 247Solar. 
 
“India’s rapid growth plainly requires more clean, reliable and affordable energy,” Anderson added. “Our system can help meet that demand. I’m thrilled that after several years of deep due diligence, NTPC is working with us to bring this promising technology into wider use.”
 
247Solar's technology removes the drawbacks of previous Concentrated Solar Power technology and brings it into the modern era. It still captures the sun’s heat with mirrors focused on towers, but the system is simplified, modular, and scalable, and it simultaneously provides heat up to 1000oC (over 1800oF) for industrial processes.
 
The system stores heat for up to 20 hours in inexpensive ceramic pellets, using hot air to generate electricity around the clock with unique turbines that operate without combustion under normal conditions. If the stored heat runs low overnight or during extended cloudy weather, the same turbines can also run on liquid or gaseous fuels, including natural gas, green hydrogen, or diesel, so the plant can keep producing power without interruption.
 
Among 247Solar’s benefits compared with traditional CSP technology:

• Lower cost
• Speed to power
• Simplicity of design and operation
• High reliability
• Grid independence
• Cost-effective baseload power    

 
The  NTPC project is a ~1MW hybrid, integrating one 400 kW modular 247Solar Plant™ with several hundred kilowatts of PV. It is being installed at Rajasthan’s Bhadla Solar Park, already one of the world’s largest solar energy hubs, in an arid region in northwestern India. The project is backed by the Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation Limited, which has approved preliminary studies, site surveys, and structural tests.

NTPC and 247Solar selected the location for its abundant sunshine, and for its easy interconnection for offtake.
 
The demonstration marks an early step toward round-the-clock clean power for industry and residents in India. Success will position Rajasthan as a proving ground for the technology and give NTPC a new tool as it works to meet the country's growing power demand while reducing reliance on coal, cutting costs and carbon emissions simultaneously. 
 
Other countries facing similar problems with their electric grid will be watching India’s roadmap for addressing off-grid and weak-grid industrial load demands and the intermittency gap of conventional PV solar, without coal.