04-01-10 JSW Energy, whose Rs 2,690 crore ($ 581 mm) initial public offer opened for trading on Monday, has projected investment of Rs 40,000 crore in developing power projects of 8,000 MW.
According to MD Sajjan Jindal, the company has 8,000 MW projects in the pipeline, and money would be needed to fund that. The investment needed for the implementation of the projects would be close to Rs 40,000 crore, he said.

The company is implementing projects worth 3,200 MW in Maharashtra, 1,320 MW in Chhatisgarh and 1,600 MW in West Bengal and has plans to emerge as an over 11,000 MW company by 2015.
Jindal said the company, which raised about Rs 2,700 crore through an initial public offer held in December, would utilise the proceeds to fund expansion, repay debt and for general corporate purposes.

JSW Energy, with an installed capacity of 995 MW, is also implementing an 860 MW project in Vijaynagar (Karnataka) and 130 MW plant in Barmer (Rajasthan). The company has 2,790 MW capacity projects under construction and implementation stage.
According to Jindal, the company will commission about 2,100 MW by December 2010. This would include its 1,200 MW plant in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra. He said 55 % of the generated power would be commercially sold on merchant basis and the remaining 45 % would be sold through long-term Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs).

Over the next three to four years, Jindal said, India would experience severe shortfalls in power availability and the company was, therefore, more inclined towards merchant power. As India developed and more power plants are commissioned, the company would shift towards long term PPA-backed sales, he added.
Industry sources, meanwhile, said JSW Energy was also exploring opportunities in the power distribution sector for diversification of the company's business.

The company is currently engaged in the generation, transmission and trading of electricity and is also looking at electricity distribution in the western region, as it has power plants in there.
JSW Energy will uptake power from its generating stations and distribute it over its transmission lines.