ApnaBundelkhand.com, Lucknow: Bajaj Hindusthan Ltd — the largest sugar producer of the country — will now set up a coal-based 6X660 MW (1,980 MW) power project in the Lalitpur district of parched Bundelkhand.

The Energy Task Force headed by Chief Secretary Atul Gupta has approved the proposal and the issue is likely to be placed before the state cabinet soon. A Memorandum of Understanding with the Bajaj Group is likely to be signed by April.

The project was initially planned to be executed by the NTPC in a joint venture with the state. But in 2009, the NTPC backed out citing technical reasons. Due to the water scarcity, the capacity of the project was reduced from 4,000 MW to 1,980 MW.

This will be the second power project in UP to be set up by a MoU. A 500 MW project to be set up by the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (DMICDC) at Greater Noida is already in the pipeline.

Bajaj Hindusthan Ltd — the largest sugar producer of the country — will now set up a coal-based 6X660 MW (1,980 MW) power project in the Lalitpur district of parched Bundelkhand.

The Energy Task Force headed by Chief Secretary Atul Gupta has approved the proposal and the issue is likely to be placed before the state cabinet soon. A Memorandum of Understanding with the Bajaj Group is likely to be signed by April.

The project was initially planned to be executed by the NTPC in a joint venture with the state. But in 2009, the NTPC backed out citing technical reasons. Due to the water scarcity, the capacity of the project was reduced from 4,000 MW to 1,980 MW.

This will be the second power project in UP to be set up by a MoU. A 500 MW project to be set up by the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (DMICDC) at Greater Noida is already in the pipeline.

The power tariff will be decided by the power regulator and UP State Electricity Regulatory Commission, after the submission of the detailed project report by the private investor, he added.

The project will be set up under Case-I of the Centre’s Competitive bidding guidelines. Under the Case-I, the power procurer/purchaser, the UPPCL will provide the land and fuel and arrange environmental clearance.

Sugar to power
The Bajaj Hindusthan Group is the country’s largest sugar producer, with 16 sugar mills in UP, which have a capacity of crushing 3 lakh MT of sugarcane per day. It also has seven distilleries and two bagasse-based medium density fiber plant in the state. The Group recently announced plans to invest Rs 1,600 crore to create 400 MW of power generation capacity through five new coal-based plants of 80 MW each located in its sugar factories in UP. The Bajaj decided to invest in the power sector after the announcement of the new energy policy by the state government in October 2009, where sugar mills were allowed to use coal as alternative fuel instead of bagasse in cogeneration plants.