SJVN Have Started Work On Its Central Funded Solar Project In Rajasthan, Says Chairman Sharma

SJVN Ltd. has started work on its largest solar project in Rajasthan for which it has received priority gap funding under the central public sector enterprises scheme, according to Chairman Nand Lal Sharma.

For this 1,000-megawatts solar project, he said, domestically manufactured modules will be used, and the power generated will be supplied to the government directly or through discoms.

"This project is expected to generate a total of 2,452 million units of energy per year," said Sharma, who is also the managing director, told BQ Prime. "The total solar portfolio of the company is 4,005 megawatts, out of which 1,400 megawatts are under construction with the remainder in the pipeline."

The EPC contract has already been awarded to Tata Power Co. for execution and installation, he said. "Out of the total 5,000 acres of land needed, more than 3,000 acres have already been transferred by Tata, and the remaining will be done over the next few months."

The company plans to commission the project by December 2023. The vision, Sharma said, is to achieve total installed capacity of 25,000 megawatts by 2030, of which 17,000 megawatts will be solar energy.

"In the hydro segment, the company has projects undergoing in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Nepal, while exploring projects in Arunachal Pradesh," he said. "The estimated cost of the the 382 megawatts Sunni Dam Project in Himachal Pradesh is Rs 2,615 crore," he said, adding, the project will be completed in 63 months.

The company, with seven projects under operation with an installed capacity of 2,091 megawatts, expects to generate more than 9,000 million units of energy in 2023. The average tariff for FY23 is less than Rs 3 per unit.

The company by the end of December 2022 had already spent Rs 6,024 crore of its Rs 8,000 crore capex target for fiscal 2023, according to Sharma. He also stated that the company has begun the monetisation of securitised assets and anticipates earning Rs 2,000 crore in securitisation income in the current fiscal year.

The chairman also anticipates higher incentives in H2FY23 compared to H2FY22. "The total incentives will tend to be around Rs 280 crore to Rs 300 crore for FY23," he said, of which the company has already received Rs 150 crore in the first half of FY23.

"The company will report a profit after tax of Rs 1,500 crore in fiscal 2023," the chairman said, adding it has already achieved a PAT of Rs 1,058 crore in the first half of FY23.

The company had reported PAT of Rs 970 crore in fiscal 2022.