India's Essar Power to Invest $8 Billion to Add 8,000 Megawatts

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Essar Power Limited (EP) (Mumbai, India) plans to add 8,000 megawatts (MW) of power to its portfolio with an investment of $8 billion in thermal power projects over the next three years.

Currently, Essar Power operates five captive power plants to supply the Essar Group's steel mills and oil refinery. A 380-MW gas-fired plant supplies power to the Essar's Algoma refinery in Ontario Canada and another 85-MW captive plant powers the Essar Steel's Algoma mill.

When the new and current construction program is completed, the company will have a total capacity of 9,670 MW. The company will then add another 1,800 MW to give a total capacity of 11,470 MW. Eight of the new plants will be coal-fired, and two will be multifuel-fired plants. The two planned plants that will provide 1,800 MW are under development and will be coal-fired.

Other plant projects under way are a 2,520-MW plant in Salaya, Gujarat, which will burn imported coal; the 510-MW Vadinar plant; and the 515-MW combined cycle plant that supplies 215 MW to Essar's plant in Hazira, Gujarat. The 1,800-MW thermal plant in Mahan, Madhya Pradesh, will be coal fired. The 1,800-MW coal-fired plant in Tori in Jharkhand is also progressing. Having acquired a 76% stake in Orissa's Navbharat Power, the company will execute more than 2,000 MW of projects under a joint venture agreement.

Essar Power is also setting up a windfarm in Bhuj, Gujarat, with turbines and technology from REpower Systems AG (ETR:RPW) (Hamburg, Germany). The company is considering constructing other renewable power projects.

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