PM Modi to lay foundation for NLC India's 2,400 MW Odisha power project

Chennai:  Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday will be laying the foundation stone for the first phase of the 3,200 MW pit head green field thermal power project in Odisha being built by the integrated lignite/coal mining and power generation company NLC India Ltd, said a top company official.

He also said the company plans a capital expenditure of about Rs 40,000 crore next fiscal and the lignite to methanol project is expected to be operational in 2027-28 and would produce 1,200 tonnes per day.

Speaking to reporters, Prasanna Kumar Motupalli, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) said the first phase will be 2,400 MW (3x800 MW) for which PM Modi will be laying the foundation stone. The second phase – 800 MW- plant will come up later.

The power project will be at Jharsuguda District in Odisha based on Ultra Super Critical Technology.

Motupalli said the first phase will go on stream in 2028-29. According to Motupalli, the total outlay for both the phases will be over Rs 35,000 crore and for the first phase it will be about Rs 27,200 crore.

As regards the funding, he said it will be a mix of debt, internal accruals and amount raised from asset monetization.

NLC India will be raising about Rs 5,000 crore by transferring about 1.4 GW of renewable power capacity to its renewable energy subsidiary.

Queried about the extent of land for the Odisha project and how much has been acquired Motupalli said, the total need is about 1,600 MW out of which about 600 acres has been acquired and over 300 acres is under company’s possession.

The 3,200 MW project will be the single largest power project under the Minstry of Coal, he said.

According to him, the power generated from the first phase will be supplied to Tamil Nadu-1,500 MW, Odisha-400 MW, Kerala-400 MW and Puducherry-100 MW.

As regards the power supply from the second phase, 400 MW will be for Odisha and balance will be decided by the Ministry of Coal. Be that as it may, NLC India has awarded over Rs 15,000 crore engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) for 2,400 MW power project. The coal linkage available from 20 MTPA Talabira II & III OCP mines of NLC India which is already operational from the year 2020 in Jharsuguda and Sambalpur districts of Odisha.

The water required for the project is linked from Hirakud Reservoir.

Boilers will be designed to suite the co-firing of bio mass as part of 'green' initiative.

Being a pit head thermal power project, the variable cost will be competitive and NLC India will be generating and providing low-cost power to its beneficiaries, the company said.

Motupalli said NLC India will also be adding 2x660 MW capacity in Neyveli in Tamil Nadu.