Tata Power Earmarks 12,000 Cr. CAPEX for FY24, Focus on Solar PV, RE Projects
Tata Power has earmarked an investment of Rs. 12,000 crore to be made in the current financial year. This information was shared by Mr. Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Power, during the company’s 104th Annual General Meeting (AGM) which was held on 19th June 2023
Tata Power to Invest in Solar PV Facility, RE Projects and T&D Business
Tata Power will invest its FY-24 CAPEX in its upcoming solar PhotoVoltaic (PV) facility in Tamil Nadu, and its Renewable Energy (RE) and Transmission & Distribution (T&D) businesses.
The company’s FY-24 investment will be almost double its Rs. 7,000 crore CAPEX for 2022-23. Speaking about this investment while addressing the company’s shareholders, Mr. Natarajan Chandrasekaran said, “To meet the growth targets, Tata Power plans to invest about Rs 12,000 crore this financial year, which is double the Capex spent in FY23.”
Tata Power’s 3,400 Cr. Solar PV Facility to be Ready by 2023-End
Out of the total investment outlay for the ongoing fiscal, Tata Power will be investing Rs. 3,400 crore in a greenfield solar cell and modules manufacturing facility in Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu. Earlier in 2021, the company had bid for developing 4 GW of solar cell and module production capacity under Indian Government’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for solar PV manufacturing. Consequently, Rs. 383 crore had been allotted for this unit under the PLI scheme, CM (cells and modules) basket.
Speaking about development of the facility, Mr. Natarajan Chandrasekaran, said, “The 4 GW cell and module manufacturing plant in Tamil Nadu is well on track, and we expect the module line to be ready by October ‘23 and the cell line by the end of the year”. Tata Power is setting up this facility to catch up with the increasing demand of solar cell and modules.
New Facility a Major Addition Tata Power’s Existing Solar PV Capacity
As of now, Tata Power has a Solar PV manufacturing facility in Bengaluru. The company’s AGM presentation explained that the upcoming facility in Tamil Nadu will boost its aggregate solar cell manufacturing capacity to 4,530 MW from the current 530 MW, and its solar module manufacturing capacity to 4,670 MW from 670 MW.
Tata Power’s CAPEX to Serve its Long-Term Goals
Apart from the solar cell and modules facility, the company will invest this year’s CAPEX in RE and T&D segments.
Currently, the company generates 37% of its total power from renewable sources, and it targets increasing the share of RE in its energy generation mix to 60% in the coming 5 years. Further, the company’s long-term sustainability goal is to generate all of its energy from renewable sources by 2045.
Therefore, since a large part of Tata Power’s FY-24 CAPEX is focused on the RE space, it will be instrumental in achieving the company’s long-term sustainability goals.