State-owned NTPC on Thursday said Talcher in Odisha will become a power hub with the PSU planning around 3,000 MW of capacity addition there.
"Recently I was in Odisha and the Chief Minister wanted that we should do expansion in Talcher. We have two stations there. One is Super Thermal Power station and one is Talcher Thermal Power Station (TTPS)," NTPC Chairman and Managing Director Arup Roy Choudhury told reporters here.
He was speaking during the sidelines of signing of MoU between NTPC School of Business and Nanyand Business School (NBS), Singapore. "Talcher Thermal Power station we are planning to add 1,320 MW. In super thermal power station we are planning to add another 1,600 MW. So what will essentially happen is that in that area itself there will be almost 3,000 MW of capacity addition...So it will become a power hub in Odisha...," Choudhury said.
He further said that coal linkages for the same in not a problem as the coal from Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL), a Coal India arm, is now available, however, there are issues on ash.
"MCL coal is now available. They have increased their production in last year. So we presume that coal linkage is not a problem. There are issues on ash. Whether that ash will be filled back in mines or we will have to create areas for dumping the ash," he said.
"This is the only thing which is being discussed and of course the linkage and the mine backfilling is being discussed with Coal India. The moment we are able to sort this out all this capacity addition will start," he added.
Replying to another question he said, that whenever the government decides to put some more Ultra Mega Power Projects on the block, NTPC for sure will be one of the bidders. He further said that in a couple of days the Ratnagiri power project will start functioning.
"We are already in an advance stage of understanding between Railways and Maharashtra government. Once we get clearances from both of them...I am quite optimistic that in June itself Ratnagiri will start working," he said. The total installed capacity of NTPC is 44,398 MW.
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