Mumbai:
The Centre is setting up four special purpose vehicles
(SPVs) to pilot four mega power projects with initial
capacities of 800 Mw each.
The
SPVs will consult with commercial banks and financial
institutions and prepare the project reports, sign power
purchase agreements (PPAs) with respective state governments
where the projects will be located, establish coal linkages,
and put in place environment clearances before selling
the projects to independent power producers (IPPs) through
an international bidding process.
In effect the prospective buyers will get a package deal
with all possible clearances and PPAs in place. According
to sources, the Cabinet has already cleared the proposal
and the inter-institutional group endorsed it last Friday.
The government will set up two of the projects at Champa
(Chhattisgarh) and Singaroli (Madhya Pradesh). The other
two locations could be Karwar in Karnataka and Surat in
Gujarat. The government is also looking at Maharashtra
and Andhra Pradesh.
Members of each of the SPVs will comprise a representative
of the Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and two bureaucrats.
The projects, all coal-based, will be set up at coal pit-heads
and along the coastline. The government has already initiated
talks with the coal ministry to tie up fuel linkages.
The mega power projects will help the country reach the
targeted
650,000 Mw of installed capacity by the 14th Plan (2026-27).
The power ministry has been looking at a generation growth
of 8 per cent per annum to reach this target.
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