India’s largest power producer NTPC Limited has launched a fresh tender for the country’s largest solar power park.
NTPC Limited is offering six blocks of 125 megawatt capacity each to project developers at the Pavagada solar power park in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. The solar park is being developed as a joint venture between Karnataka Solar Power Development Corporation Limited and Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited.
The tender terms will allow project developers to procure solar power panels from Indian or foreign manufacturers. With land already acquired and freedom to choose cheaper modules, the tariffs for this auction are expected to be in line with the trends seen in the last few months.
Pavagada solar power park will have an eventual capacity of 2,700 megawatts. First phase of the solar power park, with 500 megawatts capacity, will likely be operational by June this year.
NTPC Limited had auctioned 500 megawatts capacity among six project developers. The highly competitive auction saw allocation of the projects at tariffs Rs 4.78/kWh to Rs 4.80/kWh. The power generated from these projects will be shared by the distribution utilities of Karnataka.
Solar power parks are expected to the backbone of India’s National Solar Mission which targets 100 gigawatts of operational capacity by 2022. The initial target for contribution by solar power parks was 20 gigawatts which was recently increased to 40 gigawatts by the government.
