Tata Power will add 1,900 MW in 2011

Ratan Tata-led Tata Power expects to augments its power generation capacity in the country by over 60 per cent in 2011 through the commissioning of new projects with a cumulative output of over 1,900 MW.

"Next year, there will be a series of projects which will be commissioned... We have 800 MW in Mundra, 1,050 MW in Maithon's two units, 120 MW in Jojobera with Tata Steel, 100 MW in wind and 25 MW of solar in Gujarat," Tata Power Executive Director (Operations) S Padmanabhan told PTI here.

Tata Power has an installed power generation capacity of about 3,000 MW presently.

He said the coal-fired Maithon project in Jharkhand is in the "final stages" of completion and the company expects to commission the first of the two 525-MW units by March, 2011, following which the second power train is scheduled to be operationalised in the July-September quarter.

The Maithon project is a 74:26 joint venture between Tata Power and Damodar Valley Corporation.

The company has finished 65 per cent of the work on the first 800-MW unit under its Mundra ultra-mega power project (UMPP) in Gujarat and is confident of commissioning it by August, 2011.

"Once the first unit is commissioned, there will be a new commissioning every six months," he said.

A total of five coal-based units with a generation capacity of 800-MW each will be set up under the UMPP.

Apart from that, Tata Power is almost ready with a 120-MW captive power unit developed in association with sister company Tata Steel at Jojobera, close to the latter's manufacturing plant at Jamshedpur.

"We plan to synchronise this unit by December-end and will be commissioning it by March," Padmanabhan said.

The Mumbai-headquartered company will also add another 100 MW of capacity to its wind power portfolio in different pockets of the country, he added.

On the solar front, a 3-MW farm is ready at Mulshi, on the outskirts of Mumbai, which will be commissioned next year.

The company has also entered into an agreement with the Gujarat government to establish a 25-MW solar farm in the state, which is expected to be commissioned next year, he said.

The Tata Group firm, which aims to increases the contribution of clean sources of energy to 25 per cent of total output by 2017, is also interested in entering the nuclear power arena.

However, it is waiting for more clarity on the policy framework for private participation in the highly regulated sector before crystallising its plans, he said.