Tata Power plans to invest $9.5 billion in clean energy push

Coastal town of Mundra, Gujarat where Tata operates. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Tata Power Co. said it will invest more than 750 billion rupees ($9.5 billion) in renewables over the next five years, as it aims to almost double the share of clean energy in its portfolio.

The company, whose operations range from generation to transmission and retailing of power, will also expand into new areas such as solar irrigation pumps and electric vehicle charging, Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran said at a virtual shareholder meeting Thursday. Tata Power is also accelerating its net zero target to 2045, Chandrasekaran said. The company had previously set a goal of hitting the mark by 2050.

Tata Power had 9.7 gigawatts of fossil fuel generation capacity and 2.7 gigawatts of renewables at the end of 2021, according to filings. It plans to raise the share of clean energy capacity to 60% in five years from about a third now, Chandrasekaran said.

The company joins peers Adani Group and JSW Energy Ltd. in planning major investments in renewables as India strives to triple its clean power capacity to 500 gigawatts by the end of the decade. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged to zero out emissions by 2070. India, which currently gets about 70% of its electricity from coal, aims to produce half its power from renewable sources by 2030.

“A movement toward clean energy is evident with a slowdown in new thermal capacity additions,” by companies across India, Chandrasekaran said.

(By Rajesh Kumar Singh)

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