Tata Power to invest Rs 55,000 crore on wind and solar power generation in Tamil Nadu

Tata Power plans to invest Rs 55,000 crore in wind and solar power power generation in Tamil Nadu over the next 5-7 years as the Tata group firm expands its green energy focus.

“We are looking at investing Rs 70,000 crore for 10 GW of power across wind and solar over a period of 5-7 years,” the firm’s MD & CEO Praveer Sinha told Business Today on the sidelines of the Global Investors Meet 2024 on Sunday. He clarified that the sum includes investments to the tune of Rs 15,000 crore which have already been committed to operational as well as under-construction projects in south and central Tamil Nadu. So, the net new investments are around Rs 55,000 crore which will be announced officially on the summit’s day two on Monday. 

The firm has set its sights on 70% clean and green energy production by 2030, and 100% by 2040. Currently, the green energy share is under 40%.

Sinha added their investment commitment to renewable power capacity in the southern state is owing to its high wind speeds and ample sunlight. The wind-solar energy split would be 50-50, ie, 5GW each, he said. 
Tamil Nadu will be one of the states with the maximum power generation capacity for Tata Power, he said.

“We also get good talent here. For the new manufacturing plant we are setting up in Tamil Nadu, we are recruiting people from areas within 50-100km radius. Out of the 2,000 operators, 80% will be women operators. We have already onboarded nearly 1000 women,” he said, referring to their upcoming 
greenfield 4.3 GW solar cell and module manufacturing plant in Tirunelveli.

The company also has a solar cell and module manufacturing plant of 500 MW capacity in Bengaluru.

Tata Power is also India’s biggest EV charging provider with about 70,000 home chargers and 5,000 public chargers in various parts of the country. “Over the next five years, we plan to add 25,000 EV chargers, mainly home chargers,” he said.