Tata Power is planning to invest Rs 2,500 crore in a ground-mounted solar project with capacity of up to 500MW in West Bengal, marking the Tata Group company’s largest proposed power project in the state so far. The project could be operational by Dussehra in 2027, subject to land and other implementation requirements.
Praveer Sinha, CEO and managing director of Tata Power, said the company had approached the West Bengal government for land and had been offered three or four possible locations. He said discussions were under way and that the project could be developed across multiple sites because assembling a single large parcel of land for a solar plant was difficult.
Company officials said Tata Power was examining locations in Haldia, Bankura and Durgapur, as well as sites in north Bengal. The locations were being considered for their potential industrial and domestic power demand. North Bengal was also identified as a potential area because renewable-energy use had begun expanding in tea gardens, according to the company.
The proposed solar investment would expand Tata Power’s presence in West Bengal beyond rooftop installations. The company has installed around 6,000 solar rooftops in the state during the past year, taking its total installations to about 22,000. Sinha said solar-power penetration in Bengal remained lower than in Gujarat, Assam and Odisha.
Tata Power is targeting rooftop solar adoption across three lakh homes in West Bengal over the next three years. Sinha said state government incentives would be needed in addition to the support already provided by the Centre to increase household adoption. The company’s rooftop solar systems range from 1kW to 10kW and are intended for different household electricity requirements.
The proposed ground-mounted capacity comes as Tata Power also expects stronger electricity demand from industries and data centres in Bengal. Sanjay Banga, CEO and managing director of Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd, said the company expected more data centres and industries to come up in the state, creating requirements for land and power-connectivity infrastructure.
Banga said Tata Power could establish its unit inside a solar park if the state government developed one. Such an arrangement would affect how land assembly, common infrastructure and grid connectivity are organised for the project, although the company has not announced a final site.
At the national level, Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd is targeting total generation of 3GW for industrial and utility use during the current financial year, along with 2GW of rooftop solar capacity. Tata Power’s turnover is expected to rise to Rs 4,800 crore in the 2026-27 financial year from Rs 2,300 crore in 2025-26, according to the company.
Banga also said the company’s capital expenditure programme of around Rs 28,000 crore through financial year 2028 would continue as planned despite leadership and governance differences between Tata Sons and Tata Trusts. The West Bengal project remains subject to the completion of discussions over land, site selection and the infrastructure required to bring the proposed capacity into operation.
