State-owned Coal India Limited (CIL), the country’s major coal producer on Friday signed a strategic joint venture agreement with Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) to undertake brownfield expansion of 1600 MW capacity thermal power project at the existing site of DVC’s Chandrapura TPS, Jharkhand.
The JV also explores possibilities of jointly undertaking other thermal power and renewable energy projects, the company said.
CIL to set up 1,600 MW ultra-superficial coal project
The upcoming coal fired project will comprise two ultra supercritical units of 800 MW each aggregating to a total installed capacity of 1,600 MW. Coal for these plants would be sourced from CIL’s Jharkhand based subsidiary, Central Coalfields Limited.
The estimated cost of the project is pegged at nearly Rs, 21,000 crore and would be on a 50:50 equity sharing. Project cost includes development, construction, and commissioning of both units, CIL said.
The plants are targeted to commence commercial operations by FY32 aligning with India’s expanding energy demand.
CLI-DVC partnership to boost baseload generation
“The synergy between both the organizations is to strengthen the country’s baseload generation capacity, leveraging existing infrastructure at the Chandrapura site to ensure efficient resource utilization and faster implementation” said a senior executive of CIL, adding this project will meet national and regional power demand significantly.
The company noted since the project will be coming up in the coalfield area the variable cost of the power is expected to be competitive.
In April, the two companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding which paved the way for the formation of a joint venture.
For the current fiscal 2025-26, CIL is targeting coal production of 875 million tonnes.
