Maharashtra signs MoUs with four companies for 25,400 MW nuclear power projects

Mumbai: Maharashtra took a major step towards clean energy expansion on Tuesday as the state govt signed memorandums of understanding (MoU) with four leading companies for 25,400 MW nuclear power generation projects with investments of Rs 6.5 lakh crore.Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said the companies will conduct a survey of the project sites for which the department of the state govt will cooperate and provide assistance. The govt signed MoUs with NTPC Limited, Adani Power, Reliance Industries Limited, and Lalitpur Power Generation Company Limited of the Bajaj Group.NTPC Limited will invest Rs 1 lakh crore and is expected to generate 7,200 MW of power. Sources said that NTPC Ltd already has a joint venture with Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), and is in the process of establishing a 4×700 MW nuclear power project in Banswara district of Rajasthan, called Mahi Banswara Rajasthan Atomic Power Project. It also has a joint venture with NPCIL for a project in Madhya Pradesh and has proposed a 2.8 GW nuclear plant in Banka in BiharSimilarly, Adani Power Ltd and Coastal-Maha Atomic Energy Ltd have proposed setting up a 6,000 MW nuclear power project at Barsu in Ratnagiri district with an estimated investment of Rs 1.5 lakh crore. It is also expected to create 12,000 direct and indirect jobs. Adani Power had in the recent past incorporated Adani Atomic Energy Limited (AAEL) to spearhead its atomic energy ambitions. AAEL has set up step-down subsidiaries including Coastal-Maha Atomic Energy Limited and Rawatbhata-Raj Atomic Energy Limited.Reliance Industries Ltd has proposed Bharat Small Reactors, Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and nuclear power reactors at Purnagad in Ratnagiri district, with investment upto Rs 2 lakh crore. This will generate 7,200 MW of power and create over one lakh jobs.Lalitpur Power Generation Company Limited (Bajaj Industries Group) will invest Rs 2 lakh crore in the state. This will generate 5,000 MW of power and create 3,000 jobs.Fadnavis added that the investment would strengthen India’s journey towards becoming an “energy-rich nation” while supporting the national goal of zero carbon emissions.