India steps up solar farm projects
ACEN and UPC Solar Asia Pacific are to start building a 300MWac (420MWp) Masaya Solar Farm in Madhya Pradesh, India.
The project, located in the Khandwa District, is set to produce 691GWh of renewable energy per year, while avoiding approximately 635,720MT of CO2 emissions annually.
It will create approximately 500 jobs during its construction stage, and once completed, will be UPC-AC Energy Solar’s third and largest solar project in India to date.
“The success of our maiden projects, both reaching operational status in Q2 2021 despite the tumultuous COVID-19 crisis, bodes well for the 420MWp Masaya Solar project,” said Patrice Clausse, Head of ACEN’s International Group.
“Though the pandemic continues to present challenges, we are confident that we will complete the construction of this solar development safely and at the earliest possible time, to contribute even more meaningfully to India’s renewable energy goals.”
The joint venture was in the process of securing a 20-year loan from the State Bank of India to fund the project, with an estimated project cost of US$220mn under a 75:25 debt-to-equity financing scheme, with the JV supplying electricity at INR 2.71 per kWh fixed over a 25-year period under a power supply agreement with the Solar Energy Corporation of India.
“Working hand-in-hand with an extremely competent and enthusiastic team in India and beyond, I am confident that this project will stand the test of both time and budget in this challenging COVID scenario. India is one of the world’s largest consumers of energy and producers of renewable energy. We understand the country’s urgency to increase its production of renewables to help meet the demand and support the country’s progress.” said Pranab Kumar Sarmah, CEO of UPC-AC Energy Solar and co-founder of UPC Solar Asia Pacific.
ACEN has over 3,000MW of attributable capacity across Asia Pacific, with 18,000 MW in its pipeline of renewables projects being developed organically and with its various partners across the region. An estimated 500MW of these projects are expected to reach financial close by Q1 2022.
Talesun Solar, a leading PV module manufacturer, recently entered into a 250MW PV module supply agreement with Indian renewable energy developer Clean Solar Power (Bhainsada).
Talesun Solar will supply its BIPRO series bifacial modules based on 10-busbar half-cut cell technology that maintains first-year degradation at less than 2% and linear attenuation at no more than 0.45%. By using this technology coupled with the bifacial PV cell technology, the product supports an increase of between 5% and 25% in power generation efficiency. The 250MW modules will be deployed in Clean Solar Power's ground-mounted solar power project in India's Rajasthan state.
"India is one of the world's fastest growing and most dynamic emerging solar markets," said President Shuguang Dong.
Last month Azure Power announced the successful commissioning of its largest project, the 600MW Interstate Transmission System (ISTS) connected solar project, allocated by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).
Power generated from the project, located in Bikaner, Rajasthan, will be supplied to SECI at a tariff of INR 2.53 (~US 3.5 cents) per kWh for 25 years. It claims it is the largest solar power project in India, owned and operated at a single location by any developer.
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