Mumbai, Feb 12 (.) Adani Power officially announced on Thursday that it has incorporated a wholly-owned subsidiary company called Adani Atomic Energy Ltd (AAEL) in order to generate, transmit and distribute electric power derived from nuclear or atomic energy.
According to a regulatory filing to the stock exchange, Adani Power’s 100% owned subsidiary AAEL was incorporated with an authorised capital of Rs 5,00,000 which amounts to 50,000 equity shares of Rs 10 each on February 11, 2026.
AAEL received the Certificate of Incorporation from the Central Registration Centre, Registrar of Companies, on February 11,as per the statement.
The investment has been made in cash, the statement mentioned, adding that AAEL will be classified as a related party of the listed company, Adani Power, under regulatory norms.
The development is seen as a significant departure from previous laws which had allowed only state-owned public sector companies like the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) to operate and build nuclear power plants in the country.
AAEL’s entry to the nuclear power sector has been enabled by the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Act 2025, which allowed private sector companies to construct and operate nuclear power plants.
The SHANTI Act 2025 has also established an independent Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) to regulate the nuclear power sector.
This would mean that private companies like AAEL will now be able to build and operate nuclear power plants in the country, while the government retains the right to make strategic decisions.
Adani Power operates several coal-fired thermal power plants and it plans to replace all its coal-fired plants with nuclear power plants, reportedly targeting an electricity generation capacity of 30 gigawatt (GW).
However, it is being seen as a challenge because nuclear power projects are known to be notoriously capital-intensive, with estimates for Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) alone ranging from $5 billion to $7 billion per gigawatt (GW).
According to September 2024 figures, Adani Power maintains a manageable debt-to-equity ratio of approximately 0.83, while the entire Adani Group’s gross debt stood at Rs 2.8 trillion.
Also, running nuclear power plants needs significant technological knowhow, due to which partnerships with international firms will have to be considered.
Earlier, the Adani Group was reported to be in talks with the state government of Uttar Pradesh for a public-private partnership to build around eight small modular reactors (SMRs) with a capacity of 200 megawatts (MW) each at yet-to-be-identified sites in the state. A potential deal could give AAEL a total of 1.6 GW nuclear power generation capacity.
. BA SAS PRS