247Solar says NTPC Limited agreed to buy electricity under a 25-year contract for a solar-thermal project of about one megawatt in Rajasthan, pairing photovoltaic generation with stored heat.
The project is planned for Bhadla Solar Park. 247Solar describes it as its first commercial deployment and says installation work is underway. The company has not disclosed the electricity tariff, contracted volume, expected output or a planned operating date. It also has not specified the exact capacity of the photovoltaic portion.
According to 247Solar, one 400-kilowatt solar-thermal unit would work alongside photovoltaic panels rated at several hundred kilowatts. Mirrors focus sunlight to warm ceramic pellets, which the company says can retain heat for up to 20 hours.
The turbines can also run on natural gas, green hydrogen or diesel, 247Solar says, giving the project a fuel-based fallback when its stored heat runs short. The company says combustion is not needed during standard operation. It has not estimated how frequently backup fuels might be used or how much electricity they could supply.
247Solar presents the pilot as a way to assess whether stored heat can support electricity output during periods of weak sunlight. The company said the findings could inform NTPC’s decision on broader use of the technology. Founder and CEO Bruce Anderson framed the approach as an alternative to adding coal plants, though the announcement provided no cost comparison.
The company also says its technology can deliver heat of up to 1,000 degrees Celsius for industrial processes. Its announcement says Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation Limited supported the project and approved early studies, site surveys and structural testing.
NTPC’s renewable-energy page sets a 2032 target of 60 gigawatts of renewable capacity, nearly 45% of its overall power-generation capacity.
