Tata Power is exploring an investment of around ₹2,500 crore to develop multiple solar projects with a combined capacity of approximately 500 MW in West Bengal, although the plans remain at a preliminary stage as the company assesses land offered by the state government.
Tata Power CEO and Managing Director Praveer Sinha said the company was identifying suitable sites after the West Bengal government provided three or four locations for evaluation. The company will assess the viability of these locations before finalising the projects, he said.
The proposed capacity may be distributed across several sites because securing one large parcel of land in the state could be difficult. Individual projects could range from 100 MW to 500 MW, depending on the land available at each location, Sinha said.
“Right now, it is very preliminary. So, we are identifying land. They (State government) have given us three-four locations. We have to go and see the viability of these locations,” Sinha told media persons.
The announcement places land availability at the centre of West Bengal’s prospective renewable energy expansion. Rather than developing the entire capacity at one location, Tata Power is considering a distributed project structure that could use multiple parcels across the state. The company has not announced final locations, construction timelines or a project-level investment schedule.
Alongside utility-scale solar, Tata Power is seeking stronger state support for rooftop solar adoption under the West Bengal government’s “Ghar Ghar Solar” initiative. Tata Power Renewable Energy CEO and Managing Director Sanjay Banga said the company had suggested that the state provide additional incentives to households installing rooftop systems.
Banga cited subsidies of ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 per project in Odisha, Bihar and Assam as examples that West Bengal could consider. According to Tata Power, such support could help increase rooftop solar adoption in the state. The company launched its Ghar Ghar Solar and storage battery solution in Kolkata ahead of the Durga Puja celebrations.
The rooftop proposal adds a household-level component to the larger solar investment under consideration. While the proposed 500 MW capacity relates to multiple solar projects, the Ghar Ghar Solar initiative is focused on distributed generation and battery storage for individual consumers. The source report did not provide a target for the number of households or the total rooftop capacity planned under the initiative.
Tata Power also said its expansion plans would continue despite reported leadership and governance differences between Tata Sons and Tata Trusts. Banga said Tata Power Renewable Energy was part of a publicly listed company managed by its board and that the developments at the promoter level would not disrupt its growth programme.
“No, our company is part of a publicly listed company managed by the board, so it has nothing to do with this (ongoing promoter level differences issue),” Banga said. “The planned growth will continue.”
The immediate next steps are the site visits and viability assessments for the locations identified by the West Bengal government. Tata Power has yet to confirm the final project locations, capacity split, investment commitment or implementation schedule.
