IT and HRD Minister Nara Lokesh laying foundation stone for the 800 MW clean energy project coming up in Kurnool and Anantapur alongside Tata Power CEO & MD Praveer Sinha, Tata Power Renewable Energy CEO & MD Sanjay Banga, Suzlon Vice Chairman Girish Tanti, Minister for Industries T.G. Bharath Gupta and other officials, at Hosur near Pathikonda on Thursday.
| Photo Credit: ARRANGEMENT
Minister for Information Technology and Human Resources Development Nara Lokesh said that Andhra Pradesh has become the preferred choice for global investors.Mr. Lokesh laid the foundation stone on Thursday for an 800 megawatt (MW) clean energy project in Kurnool and Anantapur, spearheaded by the Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited (TPREL), with an investment of ₹5,750 crore at Hosur near Pathikonda. Tata Power CEO and MD Praveer Sinha, Tata Power Renewable Energy CEO and MD Sanjay Banga, Suzlon Vice Chairman Girish Tanti, Minister for Industries T.G. Bharath Gupta, as well as people’s representatives, officials and representatives from Tata Power and Suzlon attended the event.Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Lokesh revealed that global private equity funds such as Brookfield, Blackstone, BlackRock, EQT, and TPG were investing in Andhra Pradesh, while prominent Indian companies like Tata Power, Suzlon, ReNew, Premier Energies, and ACME were expanding their operations in the State.Mr. Lokesh said that the renewable energy capacity in Andhra Pradesh had surged by 400% in just one year compared to the previous year, attributing this to the restoration of the State’s credibility. “When the alliance government assumed office in June 2024, the renewable energy sector was in complete disarray. In the preceding five years, not a single major renewable energy project with a capacity of even one megawatt had been launched. Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) had been unilaterally cancelled, shattering investor confidence. Many of the world’s largest infrastructure and climate funds had blacklisted Andhra Pradesh. Restoring confidence once it has been damaged cannot happen overnight. We have steadily worked to rebuild trust among investors,” he said.With the introduction of the Integrated Clean Energy Policy-2024, we set a visionary goal to achieve a clean energy capacity of 160 gigawatts (GW), Mr Lokesh said. The Minister added that they aim to establish the entire clean energy supply chain within Andhra Pradesh, including solar modules, cells, batteries, green hydrogen, green ammonia, transmission infrastructure, ports, and storage systems to world-class manufacturing.
