The Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) plans to invest 60,000 crore in setting up three brownfield power plants in India with a collective capacity of 8,000 MW over the next seven years. The corporation has received approval from the Centre for these upcoming plants. In addition, DVC is working on installing two hydel pump storage and battery-powered plants in Jharkhand and West Bengal to generate 2,500 MW. DVC is also planning on establishing 2,000 MW floating and ground-mounted solar power plants within their operational areas.
DVC Chairman Ramnaresh Singh highlighted that the corporation is meeting its production target of 7,000 MW of power. They supply electricity to states such as Delhi, Jharkhand, Haryana, Punjab, West Bengal and Gujarat as well as to other nations like Bangladesh.
Singh shared details about the upcoming brownfield thermal power plants located in Jharkhand and West Bengal that will be located within the boundaries of existing DVC power plants, which possess coal, water, and rail infrastructure. In addition, plans are underway to set up an 800 MW thermal plant in Chandrapura. The dismantling of the old units at the Chandrapura Thermal Power Plant is in progress to make space for the 800 MW unit.
Singh assured that the DVC has an abundant supply of coal, and that high-quality coal mines have been discovered in Jharkhand, with two shipments arriving from this new mine recently. The corporation aims to provide electricity at competitive rates lower than other power generators in the country and aims to cater to around 4% of the country’s total power demand.