Exclusive: PM Modi likely to launch projects worth Rs 69,000 cr in Odisha next month, bulk in coal & power sector

NLC India's Talabira Thermal Power Project is significant as it is currently the biggest thermal power plant planned under the Ministry of Coal.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to launch projects worth nearly Rs 69,000 crore in Odisha in February, of which at least Rs 58,000 crore will be for coal and power projects alone, senior officials told Moneycontrol on January 29.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to visit Sambalpur, Odisha, on February 3 to inaugurate the permanent campus of IIM Sambalpur. During the visit, the PM is also likely to lay the foundation stones of at least four thermal power plants totalling 5,570 megawatt (MW).

In the power sector, the PM is likely to launch projects worth nearly Rs 29,000 crore, which includes laying the foundation stone for NTPC's Talcher-III Thermal Power Project (2 x 660 MW). He will also inaugurate NTPC's Darlipali Super Thermal Power Project (2 x 800 MW), and NSPCL's (NTPC-SAIL Power Company Limited) Rourkela Power Plant-II Expansion Project (1 x 250 MW).

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In the coal sector, the PM will launch projects worth at least Rs 29,300 crore, which includes laying the foundation stone for the first phase of NLC India's Talabira Thermal Power Project (3 x 800 MW). Besides, Modi is also likely to inaugurate the doubling of the Jharsuguda-Barpali-Sardega railway line, and at least three first-mile coal connectivity projects, such as a washery and a silo. All these are aimed to ensure faster coal transportation to thermal power plants.

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The remaining Rs 11,000 crore worth of projects likely to be launched by the PM in Odisha are going to be from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (about Rs 5,000 crore), Ministry of Railways (about Rs 3,000 crore), Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (about Rs 2,000 crore), Ministry of Education (Rs 400 crore) and the postal department (Rs 2 crore).

Talabira power plant: biggest under the Coal Ministry

NLC India's Talabira Thermal Power Project is significant as it is currently the biggest thermal power plant planned under the Ministry of Coal. The total planned capacity of the Talabira ultra-supercritical thermal power plant is going to be 3,200 MW, under which in phase-I three units of 800 MW each will be commissioned by 2028-29, and in phase-II another 800 MW unit will be operationalised. The execution of phase-I has been awarded to Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), while the tender for the second phase will be done later. The project cost is estimated to be Rs 27,213 crore as of now.

NLC India currently operates six thermal power plants, with the biggest one having a capacity 1,470 MW in Neyveli, Tamil Nadu. Other companies under the Coal Ministry, such as Coal India Limited (CIL), announced their plans of getting into thermal power generation only in 2023.

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Following that, the Union Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA), on January 18, approved the two maiden thermal power generation units planned by Coal India Ltd (CIL), totalling Rs 22,000 crore, in collaboration with its subsidiaries. One will be a 1,600 MW supercritical thermal power plant in Odisha’s Sundargarh district, in collaboration with Mahanadi Basin Power Ltd (MBPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL), another arm of Coal India. The other will be a 660 MW Amarkantak supercritical coal-based thermal power plant in Anuppur district of Madhya Pradesh, through a joint venture between CIL subsidiary South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL), and Madhya Pradesh Power Generating Co Ltd (MPPGCL), owned by the state government.

India has seen spikes in peak demand for electricity in the last two years, even as it has struggled to add renewable energy capacity in line with its goal of 500 gigawatts (GW) of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030. India, along with China, were among the countries that were against the complete phasing out of coal at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, more commonly referred to as COP, in 2021. Subsequently, the country has taken a stronger stand, and decided to add coal capacity to the tune of 80-87 GW by 2030.