MC EXCLUSIVE Tata Power eyes solar cells, modules export to US, Europe in FY27, says CEO Praveer Sinha

Tata Power eyes solar cells, modules export to US, Europe in FY27, says CEO Praveer Sinha

• Tata Power to export solar cells to US and Europe in FY27
• Mundra coal plant to start operations next month amid rising power demand
• Company in talks for nuclear projects in MP, Gujarat, and Odisha

Did our AI summary help?

Tata Power plans to export its solar cells and modules to the US and Europe in the coming fiscal 2026-27 leveraging the conclusion of Free Trade Agreement with Europe and the US announcement of lower tariffs on Indian goods, CEO and MD Praveer Sinha told Moneycontrol in an interview. The company also plans to start operations for its 4,000 MW coal-fired ultra-mega power plant (UMPP) in Mundra by next month amid concerns of rising power demand as the summer season approaches.

Further, Tata Power, which has been assessing small modular reactors for its entry into the nuclear segment, is in discussions with state governments of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Odisha for acquisition of land for nuclear projects. It is also under discussions with state-run Nuclear Power Corp of India and other foreign players for technology support and collaboration in the nuclear segment.

Edited Excerpts:

Can you outline your solar cell and manufacturing business and how do you further plan to expand your capacity?

We have set up a 4.3 gigawatt solar cell and module manufacturing plant. This is in addition to the 250 megawatt we have in Bangalore. And we have been able to stabilize the operation of the plant. Over the last nine months, the performance has improved drastically. What we are seeing is that my plant operation has stabilized, cost reductions have happened, further optimization work is going on. And we will be able to produce nearly 950 to 980 megawatt per quarter, because every day we produce about 11 megawatt.

We will be able to supply this to our own utility scale projects, as well as rooftop projects. And you will continue to see very good performance going forward.

How do you think the recently announced India-US deal help the industry? Do you also plan to export your cells and modules? 

Yes, absolutely. We have plans to export. And now since the tariffs have come down, we will be very competitive to supply to various markets, including the US and Europe. And we do have plans to export in the coming year.

Currently, we have not done that. We wanted to first stabilize the plant. Secondly, there are certain certifications that are required for export purposes. We have completed all those certifications. And now, we will get up to supply in FY27.

Speaking on the recently announced India-US trade deal, Sinha had earlier said that the deal will open many opportunities including working with US companies on technology in the renewable and nuclear space.

You have earlier announced plans for ingot and wafer manufacturing. What is the update on that and by when do you plan to commission these?

We have been looking at setting up an ingot and wafer plant and also looking at who are the other players who are proposing to set up and what will be the demand supply going forward. We have also looked at what sort of technology and equipment we need to bring. We are looking at a 10 gigawatt capacity of ingots and wafers each.

And this is a little complex in terms of manufacturing. So what sort of technology partner we will have who will support us in setting up of the plant as also in stabilizing the operations of the plant. So, those are under discussion.

And we expect in the next two months time, we will be in a position to finalize it.

How do you plan to expand your hydro power generation portfolio? What other projects are into consideration?

Right now, 1 gigawatt is under implementation and it's in a very good shape in terms of the construction. We do expect that apart from this 1 gigawatt pumped hydro,  we will set up another 1.8 gigawatt which is a pumped hydro in Shirota, for which we are obtaining the various approvals and clearances. I think by the second quarter of the next financial year, we'll be able to do it. And in the later part of this year, we will start the construction activity.

And that will take about 60 months. Similarly, we are working on hydro plants in Bhutan. The first one of 600 megawatt, the Khorlochhu project, work is already going on at a very fast pace and that will get commissioned in FY29.

Similarly, there is another project of 1125 megawatt. We are doing the pre-project activities. We will achieve financial closure by July or August. We have already got the first approval of financing from the World Bank and IFC. And we expect that later part of this year, the construction activity will start.

Apart from UP discoms, are you considering bidding for the privatisation of any other state discoms? How has been the performance of Odisha discoms?

We have done exceedingly well in the Odisha discoms. Based on our learning experience over there, we are looking at many more opportunities.

UP is one of the states which wants to go for public-private partnership. Apart from that, the Government of India, through the group of ministers, has identified another nine states which require to go through a public-private partnership because of the huge financial losses that they have. Also, the government is planning to bring the Electricity Act amendment, which will allow parallel licensing.

All this is expected to happen in the next six to nine months. And in all of them, we will actively participate and we look forward to being the major player in power distribution. We already are the largest in the country in the private sector and with more than 50% market share.

And we expect that in future also, we will have a similar market share.

Going forward, how much capacity addition do you target in your rooftop solar segment?

What we are seeing is that there is a huge amount of interest in various parts of the country (for rooftop solar), not only in urban areas, but also in rural areas.

And the government subsidy under PM Suryaghar and also some of the states who have offered certain subsidies is encouraging the local people to go for rooftop solar. And this is a very, very attractive business, which I think we have major market share in. And I do believe that this will continue for many more years.

This will further get enhanced in the coming years because our supply chain, channel partner, and our ability to go ahead and implement and execute such projects is very good. And I'm 100% confident that we will continue to be one of the biggest players in rooftop solar.

This year (FY26) we will install around 1.4 gigawatt rooftop solar capacity. Next year (FY27), we should be able to do at least 2 gigawatts.

What is the update on PPAs (power purchase agreements) for your Mundra plant? When do you see the plant starting operations?

We have had discussions with the Gujarat government and there were a large number of points on which we were discussing. All those points have been agreed. There's only one point which is pending and we are in the process of finalising that also. Once that is finalized, we will start the plant.

We are also parallelly based on the points agreed, taking up with the other four procurer states (Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab, and Haryana)  so that we are in a position to conclude everything within this month and start the project and the plant because as summer is approaching, it is very necessary that the demand will increase and this is one of the lowest cost power that is available from any of the imported coal-based plants as also in the merit order for most of the states.

I'm actually looking to start Mundra’s operations next month. So, possibly before the end of the financial year, we will be in a position to operate.

Are you in discussions with any foreign players for technology support for your foray in the nuclear segment?

We have been discussing both with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India and Department of Atomic Energy and also with some of the foreign players to give us the technology and support in the erection commissioning and supply of equipment and operations.

The objective is that we need to set up these plants much faster and also the financial viability of these plants have to be ensured. So, we are working very closely with many of the foreign companies and Indian companies.

We are also working very closely with the state governments to identify the land availability or water and also to ensure that we get necessary approvals and clearances.

I think we will be in a position to give more details once we know what are the rules and regulations for setting up these plants, what are the statutory requirements, environmental requirements and also the sourcing of uranium fuel for this. Hopefully, again in the next six to nine months, we'll get better clarity on the same.

With India partnering with both the US and Russia in the energy and nuclear space, will you be looking to partner with companies from these two countries?

What is important is that the technology and cost has to be very competitive so that our cost of power generation is acceptable in the market. Also, the long-term sourcing of fuel has to be tied up. So, I think we need to discuss in more detail with all these technology companies from these countries and then take a call which is good for our consumers.

Which states have you identified for your nuclear projects? 

We are in discussion in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Odisha. So, in many of the states, we are in discussion.

Nothing has been finalized yet, but yes, this is a discussion that we are having because the land has to be suitable for a nuclear plant. It should not be in earthquake-prone areas. There should be no habitation and some of the other things about water availability and all.

So, yes, we are trying to work out with the state governments to see how quickly this can be decided.

What is your investment target for FY27?

We are targeting between Rs 20,000 crore to Rs 25,000 crores per year because these are the ongoing projects that we have in our renewable business, in our transmission, distribution, and some of our ongoing operational upgrades that we carry out. So, we will continue to have a similar type of investment in the coming year too.