LUCKNOW, March 31 -- NTPC, India's largest integrated power utility, has proposed setting up a nuclear power plant in Uttar Pradesh, identifying three potential sites as part of its push to expand non-fossil fuel capacity, officials said on Monday. Diwakar Kaushik, regional executive director (North), NTPC Limited, said at a press conference that the final decision on the site will rest with the state government after feasibility assessments and clearances. The three sites identified are in Prayagraj, Lalitpur and Sonbhadra. The state government will be responsible for allocating land and water resources for the project. As HT recently reported, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd is also surveying at least two sites in the state for a similar initiative. Kaushik said nuclear energy is being considered as a long-term alternative to coal-based power due to rising demand and climate commitments. He pointed to land availability as a key challenge in Uttar Pradesh. "UP is a densely populated state. For a nuclear plant, a significant area has to be vacated, which limits the scope," he said, indicating that land acquisition and rehabilitation could be major hurdles in project execution. The proposal aligns with NTPC's broader plan to scale up its installed capacity to 149 GW by 2032, including 60 GW from non-fossil fuel sources. Meanwhile, NTPC's Northern Region generated 1,10,992 million units till March 29, contributing 25.64% to the company's total output, with a plant load factor of 72.4%. Stations such as Singrauli, Rihand and Vindhyachal recorded strong performance, with no fatal incidents reported in the past three years. In Uttar Pradesh, NTPC is expanding capacity through the 1,600 MW Singrauli Stage III project, targeted for commissioning by 2028, with the state willing to procure up to 100% of the output. The company is also developing 1,000 MW solar capacity in Lalitpur and Chitrakoot. It outlined clean energy initiatives as part of its expansion roadmap, including carbon capture at Vindhyachal, a waste-to-energy project in Varanasi, green hydrogen efforts, biomass co-firing and flue gas desulfurisation (FGD) systems....