To enhance baseload capacity, the Centre plans to introduce thermal and nuclear power plants across the nation, while Engineers India Ltd (EIL), a government-run engineering consultancy and project management firm, aims to pursue additional projects in both power generation areas, according to its chairman and managing director (CMD) Vartika Shukla.

Vartika says, “The company is in talks with players in the wind energy space to develop offshore wind projects as it diversifies further into sectors other than oil and gas.”

“To meet the demand gap in the power segment, there are several thermal power plants which are reviving and which earlier we were not looking at earlier. So, we are also talking to some (power generation companies). We are looking at a PMC (project management consultancy) role for those projects. We also see in the non-oil and gas power sector, opportunities in offshore wind,” adds Vartika.

The emphasis on thermal power arises from the government's strategy to establish 80GW of coal-powered generation capacity in the country by 2032 to address the increasing demand for electricity, alongside the ambitious energy transition target of achieving 500GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030.

The government might raise its coal-based capacity expansion plans to around 100GW in response to rising coal output and escalating power needs.

EIL has been engaged in captive power plants and is also working on the relocation of a 300MW gas-powered facility.

Vartika says, “We have moved the needle towards more engagement towards the nuclear sector as well. We were present in the space when we did the Kundankulam project, we need to revisit that relationship. So, we have trained our people in BARC (Bhabha Atomic Research Centre). We have built the competency within.”

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EIL has been involved in several nuclear initiatives, including the 2x1000MWe Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant - Units 3 and 4, the Cooling Water and Heat Recovery Systems for the ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor), and NPCIL's Nuclear Power Project at Mithivirdi.