Tata Power plans Rs 25,000-cr capex

Tata Power, which produces about 2,400 mw currently, will set up a 1,000-mw coal-fired thermal power project at Naraj Marthapur, Orissa, through a public-private partnership (PPP). A 1,270 mw captive power project for Tata Steel will also come up at the same location. The power major will use coal from the Mandakini coal blocks in Orissa, which allotted the blocks jointly to Tata Power, the Jindal Group and Monnet Ispat, to boost power generation capacity in the state.

About 1,500 acres are required for the project and the company has begun the process of land acquisition, said Prasad R Menon, managing director, Tata Power.

Tata Power is also planning a 500-mw tubed coal power project at Jharkhand with captive coal mines. It has already formed a joint venture with Hindalco and Tubed Coal Mining for coal mining.

The company will also set up a 500 mw capacity captive power plant for Tata Steel in Jharkhand. Another 2,400 mw project will come up at Shahpur in Maharashtra, which will have 1,400 mw installed capacity in the first phase. About 540 acres of land has been acquired and the company expects the first phase to take off by 2012. Tata Power is in talks with the state government for further acquisition of land, he said.

"Apart from these projects, we will go for aggressive acquisition opportunities in Southeast Asian countries and other overseas markets as opportunities come across," said Menon. The company will also bid for power projects in the domestic arena, including the upcoming ultra mega power projects (UMPP), he said.

At present, Tata Power is implementing projects with collective generation capacity of over 5,500 mw, including the 4,000-mw UMPP at Mundra in Gujarat, a 1,050 mw project at Maithon in a joint venture with Damodar Valley Corporation, a 250 mw expansion project at its Trombay unit that is expected to be commissioned by October.

Another 120 mw new unit at the firm's Jojobera power plant will be commissioned next year and it also has a 120-mw captive power plant for Tata Steel.

Commenting on Tata Power's wind energy foray, S Ramakrishnan, executive director, said: "The company would add another 100 mw this year with an investment of Rs 600 crore.

Currently, the firm has 50.4 mw capacity at Khandke and two additional wind power projects of 50.4 mw each are being developed in Jamnagar and Gadag at Karnataka.

Tata Power, which currently has 447 mw of power generated from hydro electric projects, is also looking to add another 1,000 mw from projects in Nepal, Bhutan and across India, the officials said.

They said the company has floated TPC Energy Asia for bringing coal to India and so far commissioned three vessels on a long-term contract. Tata Power will require about nine vessels, each costing about $90-100 million, to ship coal, mainly from the coal facilities acquired in Indonesia. The company will require 21-22 million tonnes of coal every year alone to fuel the Mundra, coastal Maharashtra (shahapur) and Trombay power projects.