Indian renewable power developer ReNew has commissioned a 400MW solar project in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan.
The project forms the majority of a 600MW solar facility, which will produce power to be sold to the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for the next 25 years as part of a power purchase agreement (PPA). ReNew expects to commission the remaining 200MW of capacity by October this year.
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The facility is ReNew’s latest project in India, and follows the announcement of a number of ambitious plans for the Indian energy sector. Earlier this year, the company announced the signing of PPAs to provide 800MW of solar capacity from new Indian projects, and has already noted its plan to develop 5GW of new renewable power capacity alongside Malaysian firm Gentari.
“Presently, 4000MW of ReNew’s gross ~10GW of operational capacity is situated in Rajasthan with investments of over INR210 billion (US$2.5 billion), including a 4GW solar module manufacturing facility in Jaipur,” said Sumant Sinha, founder, chair and CEO of ReNew. “We are fully committed to Rajasthan when it comes to expanding our portfolio upwards from 10GW in the next few years.”
ReNew’s investment in manufacturing capacity echoes a number of new projects announced in the Indian upstream space, as developers around the world look to lessen their reliance on solar products produced in China. Earlier this year, US manufacturer First Solar opened a 3.3GW manufacturing plant in India, and Solar Media head of research Finlay Colville noted, at a webinar held in March, that India is the “big winner” as the US, in particular, looks to minimise its import of products made in China.
“Adding renewable capacity will reduce the cost of power resulting in lower tariffs for consumers and also savings for the government,” added Shri Bhajan Lal Sharma, chief minister of Rajasthan. “Through this plant, electricity will be supplied to Rajasthan discom at very cheap rates.”
The news follows SECI’s award of 630MW of new renewable power-plus-storage capacity in its latest tender, as India looks to diversify its energy mix. Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firm Sterling & Wilson also announced that it had been awarded a contract to develop a 20MW floating solar project in the country.
