Tamil Nadu to add 18,140 MW in five years

CHENNAI - Private players are expected to increase Tamil Nadu’s power generation by 18,140 MW in five years at an outlay of Rs.910 billion ($20 billion), Deputy Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said Sunday.

Speaking at the All India Conference of Chairmen of Central and State Electricity Regulatory Commissions here, Stalin said: “Private power developers are putting up power projects to the tune of 18,140 MW at an investment of Rs.91,000 crore (Rs.910 bn) within the next 3 to 5 years.”

He said the government, in its efforts to promote clean energy, has mandated a major shift from coal fuel to renewable energy.

Seven developers from the state have been shortlisted by the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency to set up solar power plants with a total capacity of 7 MW, he added.

According to him, the additional wind power generation potential estimated in the state is around 5,530 MW and that of bagasse based co-generation capacity is around 800 MW.

Referring to the Tamil Nadu Energy Regulatory Commission’s (TNERC) renewable energy purchase obligations with a conducive tariff policy, Stalin urged the power tariff regulators to have similar renewable energy purchase obligation targets.

Declaring that open access to power does not mean transmission of power from a place of acute shortage purely on price consideration to outside the state, he said: “It is in this context that the role of regulators like you and the governments become crucial.”