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SCCL floats 2 subsidiaries for green energy, critical minerals
SCCL has launched two subsidiaries for green energy and critical mineral mining, aiming to diversify beyond coal, with plans for major energy projects in Odisha.
Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), the 130-year-old Telangana state-owned public sector undertaking traditionally focussed on coal mining, has floated two new subsidiary companies, to diversify into green energy and critical mineral mining, company officials said on Friday.
Last week, the Registrar of Companies, under the Union ministry of corporate affairs, approved the registration of two subsidiaries — Singareni Green Energy Company Limited and Singareni Global Limited— clearing the way for their formation, an official statement from the SCCL said.
While Singareni Green Energy Company Ltd will bid for and operate solar power and other renewable energy projects to be set up in India and abroad, the Singareni Global Limited will focus on overseas mining operations, particularly in the areas of critical minerals, rare earth elements, and allied businesses, said the statement.
It added that the Union ministry of coal has also responded positively to Singareni’s expansion plans.
“In a letter to the company last week, senior official of the ministry Pradeep Raj Nayan said the ministry has taken note of Singareni’s decision to set up two subsidiaries and expressed hope that the new entities would operate profitably,” the statement said.
In a related development, the SCCL signed two preliminary agreements with the Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Odisha Limited (IPICOL) on Thursday for the establishment of thermal and green energy power projects with a combined capacity of 4,900 MW in Odisha.
An SCCL official said Singareni has decided to set up a 2,400 MW (3x800 MW) ultra-supercritical thermal power plant linked to the Naini coal block, which the company is developing in Odisha. An agreement to this effect will be signed with IPICOL.
He explained that the decision was taken in view of the condition that coal produced from the Naini block must be used for a captive thermal power plant. This arrangement, he said, would benefit both Odisha and Singareni.
On Friday, Telangana deputy chief minister Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu, who holds energy portfolio said a team of Telangana officials would study the feasibility of setting up a thermal power plant at the pit-head of the Naini coal block being operated under Singareni.
Vikramarka held a meeting with Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi in Hyderabad explained that the team of officials from the energy department would make an assessment of the situation.
Alongside thermal power, Singareni is also planning large-scale green energy generation in Odisha.
As part of this initiative, the company has proposed the establishment of 1,000 MW of solar power plants, 500 MW of floating solar power projects, 500 MW of wind power plants, and 500 MW of pumped storage power projects, the official said.
