After venturing into renewable wind and solar energy, hydro-power major Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) is all set to enter the thermal power sector with a 1,320-MW plant in Bihar.
The Rs 9,000-crore project based on super-critical technology will come up at Chaunsa on the Bihar-Uttar Pradesh border. It will have two units of 660 MW each and its capacity will be expandable up to 2,000 MW.
SJVN Chairman-cum-Managing Director RP Singh said talks with the Bihar Government were on and a memorandum of understanding was likely to be signed shortly. The SJVN had also diversified into wind and solar energy with projects to have an initial capacity to generate 50 MW by June next year.
The SJVN was also making a foray into power transmission with its maiden project to erect a 310-km 400-KV line from Dhakebar in Nepal to Muzaffarpur as a joint venture partner in a cross-border transmission company. This line would help transmit power from the 900-MW Arun hydroelectric project being executed by it in Nepal.
With 10 projects in Nepal, Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, the SJVN was on its way to realise the dream of having an installed capacity of 6,000 MW by 2020. With diversification into other sectors, the vision for 2030 was to have a capacity of between 10,000 MW and 12,000 MW.
