Tata Power to focus growth on renewables

Tata Power Ltd, India’s largest privately-run power utility, has decided to not invest in any new coal-fired power generation asset in the future, instead it will focus on expansion with renewable energy

April 24, 2019

Tata Power looks to align its business under the ‘Strategic Intent 2025’ to move up to 70 per cent of its capacity addition to renewable energy resources

At present, thermal power constitutes around 70 per cent of Tata Power’s total capacity, in line with the national average of nearly 64 per cent of capacity

India is looking to have a total renewable capacity of around 275 GW by 2027, including addition of 175 GW of new assets, currently ahead of schedule

A total of 101.8 billion units of power were generated in India in 2017-18 from clean resources, marking a rise of around 65 per cent over the last four years

Tata Power Ltd, India’s largest privately-run power utility, has decided to not invest in any new coal-fired electricity generation asset in the future, as revealed by a report from the US-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. The April 2019 report said that the decision comes as Tata Power looks to align its business under the ‘Strategic Intent 2025’ to move up to 70 per cent of its capacity addition to renewable energy resources. The remaining 30 per cent capacity addition will come from acquisition of coal-fired plants, and not from the construction of new coal plants. The company sees the majority of its new capacity coming from low-cost solar, wind and hydro. The strategy will contribute to India’s target to source 40 per cent of power supply from renewable resources by 2030.

Currently, more than 21 per cent of India’s total power production capacity of over 350 GW is made up of renewable resources. Tata Power has also found renewables to be more profitable than coal-powered electricity. Over the past six financial years, thermal power made up only 3 per cent of the company’s net capacity additions, while wind and solar represented 87 per cent and hydro 11 per cent. Tata Power aims to set up 8.2 GW of clean energy capacity till 2025, while coal power addition is estimated to come at 3.5 GW. Apart from generation, the company has focused on distribution and transmission of clean power. At present, thermal power constitutes around 70 per cent of Tata Power’s total capacity, in line with the national total where thermal makes up nearly 64 per cent of installed capacity.

India is looking to have a total renewable capacity of around 275 GW by 2027, including addition of 175 GW of new assets. During the same period, coal-fired generation is estimated to slow down considerably. A total of 101.8 billion units of power were generated in India in 2017-18 from all renewable resources, marking an increase of around 65 per cent during the last four years. India is presently 5th in the world in terms of installed renewable capacity, including 4th in wind power and 5th in solar power. India has taken up wind-solar hybrid policy as well as power transmission and storage policies to boost the sector. The nation is also leading the International Solar Alliance (ISA) that connects more than 120 countries to mobilise US$1 trillion to instal 1,000 GW of solar capacity worldwide by 2030.

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