Tata Power’s board approved a ₹11,871 crore investment in a 1,800-megawatt pumped-storage project in Maharashtra, setting out a debt-heavy financing plan for infrastructure intended to support renewable power.
The Nov. 11 filing places the project at Shirwata and says 75% of the investment will be financed through debt and 25% through equity. It sets a 51-month period for adding capacity but does not state when that period begins.
Tata Power said the facility is intended to support round-the-clock renewable-energy applications, shift electricity across time and help industries reduce emissions. The filing does not identify lenders or power buyers. In pumped-storage systems, electricity runs pumps that raise water to a reservoir; releasing the water later turns turbines to generate power.
The project comes as India expands support for energy storage. The Union Cabinet approved a ₹14,500 crore scheme targeting 92 gigawatt-hours of storage, including 60 gigawatt-hours from pumped hydro, as described in the Union Cabinet’s storage scheme.
The new approved amount exceeds earlier figures in Tata Power documents. A May investor presentation listed ₹7,850 crore as tentative capital investment, while June environmental-clearance documents put the estimated project cost at ₹7,285 crore. The Nov. 11 filing does not explain the difference.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) issued environmental clearance for the project on June 15. Its letter says the clearance does not replace other approvals required by law. Documents for the clearance, based on Tata Power’s submissions, state that the company already held the project land and would acquire no private land. They project 1,500 jobs during construction and 200 during operation.
Tata Power also reported investing approximately ₹10,000 crore from April through September, its highest half-yearly capital deployment. “Our ₹10,000 crore capital deployment in the first half of the year is accelerating renewable capacity addition,” said Dr. Praveer Sinha, the company’s chief executive officer and managing director.
