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SB Energy

450 Megawatt Capacity Commissioned At 1 Gigawatt Kurnool Solar Park In India

written by saurabh

A large-scale solar power park in southern India is slowly reaching its planned capacity of 1 gigawatts as more and more developers commission their projects.

The Kurnool solar power park owned by NTPC Limited, India’s largest power generating company, has reached an installed capacity of 450 megawatts following operationalisation of two projects. Two more projects and the solar park will reach the milestone of 1 gigawatts to become one of, if not the largest, solar power park in the world.

SB Energy, a joint venture company of Softbank, Foxconn Technology and Bharti Enterprises, had commissioned a 350 megawatt (AC) project in late March 2017 while Azure Power recently commissioned 100 megawatt (AC) project in early June 2017. All projects commissioned at the solar power park will supply electricity to state-owned utilities of Andhra Pradesh where the park is located.

Both, Azure Power and SB Energy secured rights to develop their projects under the ‘open’ category which means that they were free to use Indian or imported solar panels. While the origin of panels used by Azure Power is unknown, SB Energy used more than 700,000 panels manufactured by China-based Trina Solar.

The other two developers – Greenko Energy and Adani Green Energy – won their projects under the Domestic Content Requirement (DCR) category and are obligated to use Indian-made panels. Greenko is developing a 500 megawatts (AC) project at the park which, once commissioned, will likely become the second largest solar power project developed by a single developer at a single site in India.

Adani Green Energy, which currently operates the largest solar power project in India, will commissioned 50 megawatts (AC) project at the Kurnool solar power park.

06/18/2017 0 comment

Renewable Energy

Trina Modules Now Generating Power At India’s 2nd Largest Solar Power Project

written by saurabh

Trina Solar recently issued a press release boasting of the fact that its solar modules have started feeding electricity to the grid in India from a large-scale project of SB Energy, a joint venture company of Softbank, Foxconn Technology and Bharti Enterprises.

The project, with a capacity of 455 megawatts (DC), is perhaps the second largest solar power plant developed by a single company in India. The largest operational project being the 648 megawatts power plant in Tamil Nadu owned by Adani Green Energy. The SB Energy power plant is part of the 1 gigawatt NTPC solar power park at Kurnool.

Trina announced that it shipped more than 700,000 TALLMAX 72-cell polycrystalline panels to the project which was commissioned on 29 March 2017 and recently started commercial operations. As mentioned in earlier articles,

SB Energy was the sole winner of the 350 megawatts (AC) solar power tender launched by India’s largest power generation company NTPC Limited for a solar power park in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. The auction took place in December 2015 and was awarded to SB Energy at a tariff of Rs 4.63/kWh (7.12¢/kWh), the lowest in India at that time.

SunEdison also secured rights to develop a 500 megawatts (AC) project at the solar power park through in a separate auction. Once commissioned, the project will overtake SB Energy as the operator of India’s second-largest solar power project.

SB Energy is among the leading solar power developers in India and remains at the forefront of the sharp decline in solar power tariffs. Last month,

… the company secured rights to develop 100 megawatts capacity out of the 250 megawatts offered by Adani Enterprises at the Bhadla solar power park. The capacity was allocated at Rs 2.63/kWh (4.1¢/kWh), one of the lowest tariffs in India at the time. Two days later, the company also won 300 megawatts capacity offered by IL&FS, an infrastructure company, at the same solar power park at Rs 2.45/kWh (3.8¢/kWh) another record low in India.

06/18/2017 0 comment

Renewable Energy

SoftBank-backed SB Energy Justifies India’s Lowest Solar Power Tariffs

written by saurabh

SoftBank led SB Energy has stated that India’s lowest solar power tariffs are financially viable given the sharp fall in module prices and ample supply of debt finance for energy projects.

Manoj Kohli, executive chairman of SB Energy, recently stated that the company’s tariff bid of ₹2.45/kWh (3.8¢/kWh) for a 300 megawatt solar power project in Rajasthan is aggressive but financially viable. Kohli stated three major reasons for the sharp fall in tariff bids in India’s solar power market over the last few months.

Price of Chinese solar power modules have fallen significantly over the last few months has been a major reason for conjugated fall in tariff bids world over, Kohli said. Chinese exports have increased as the country’s domestic solar power program has slowed down.

Global banks have also increased exposure to renewable energy projects, Kohli added. Several of the cheapest solar power projects across the world have received debt funding at very low rates. These projects include the 200 megawatt phase II of Dubai solar power park and the 750 megawatt Rewa solar power park in Madhya Pradesh, India.

Kohli also stated another global trend in the solar power market. Larger projects are being auctioned and commissioned now than at any time in the history. This results in lower costs due to economics of scale.

The three reasons mentioned by Kohli are applicable to the global solar power market in general but there are India-specific reasons as well for the declining prices. Withdrawal of inter-state transmission charges, increased renewable energy installation and consumption targets and efforts to improve the financial health of power utilities have contributed significantly to the decline in solar tariff bids in India.

05/28/2017 0 comment

Renewable Energy

Softbank-led SB Energy Commissions 350 Megawatts Solar Project In India

written by saurabh

A joint venture of Softbank, Foxconn Technologies and Bharti Enterprises has announced that it commissioned world’s seventh largest solar power project in India.

SB Energy recently announced that it commissioned a 350 megawatts solar power project in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The project was completed 51 days ahead of its scheduled commissioning date.

The power project is expected to generate enough electricity to meet the demands of more than 700,000 Indian households.

SB Energy was the sole winner of the 350 megawatts solar power tender launched by India’s largest power generation company NTPC Limited for a solar power park in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. The auction took place in December 2015 and was awarded to SB Energy at a tariff of Rs 4.63/kWh (7.12$/kWh), the lowest in India at that time.

SB Energy plans $20 billion investment in India’s solar power market to developer at least 20 GW capacity. The company had recently signed an agreement with the government of Andhra Pradesh to set up 2 GW solar power and 1 GW wind energy capacity.

The company has also expressed desire to set up a 1,000 megawatt solar power park in the state of Odisha.

04/15/2017 0 comment

Renewable Energy

SoftBank, SkyPower Global Eye Share In 1 GW Solar Power Park In India

written by saurabh

A number of Indian and foreign project developers are looking to set up projects under the planned 1 GW solar power park in the Indian state of Odisha.

According to media reports, interested developers include SoftBank-led SB Energy and Canada-based SkyPower Global. Among the Indian developers looking to set up projects are Azure Power, Panchvaktra Holdings, Orange Renewable and Shapoorji Pallonji.

Last year, the government of Odisha has announced plans to set up 1 GW solar power park spread over 5,000 acres of land. The state would acquire 20% of the electricity generated while the developers shall be free to sell the balance in open market, perhaps one of the reasons for such great interest shown by these companies.

Under the public partnership model, Green Energy Development Corporation of Odisha Ltd (GEDCOL), a 100 per cent subsidiary of Odisha Hydro Power Corporation would be the nodal agency for implementation of the solar park. GEDCOL would partner with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for development of this park.

Auction of projects that will form part of the solar power park will likely by conducted by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) which also recently auctioned 270 MW solar power capacity in the state.

09/24/2016 0 comment

Articles Renewable Energy

Foxconn Promises To Expand Sharp’s Solar Power Business

written by saurabh

Taiwan-based manufacturer Foxconn has promised to utilise and expand Sharp’s solar power business which the former acquired recently.

In a letter issued by Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou and Executive Vice President J.W. Tai, the company expressed intentions to make investments to expand Sharp’s solar power business. Such an expansion will fuel Foxconn’s own renewable energy goals.

Foxconn acquired controlling stake of 66% in Sharp’s solar division for $3.46 billion.

Foxconn is known to be working in partnership with Apple, for which it manufacturers iPhones and other gadgets, to increase the consumption of renewable energy at its manufacturing facilities in China. Last year, Apple entered an agreement with SunPower to set up 2 solar PV power projects with a cumulative capacity of 40 MW in the Sichuan province of China. Foxconn had announced plans to set up manufacturing facilities in the city of Chengdu, Sichuan.

Foxconn has also entered a three-way joint venture with Japan’s SoftBank and India’s Bharti Enterprises. The joint venture SB Energy (formerly SBG Cleantech) pledged $20 billion investment in India’s solar power market over the next few years. SoftBank holds majority stake in the joint venture while, both, Bharti Enterprises and Foxconn hold minority stake. SB Energy plans to set up at least 20 GW solar power capacity in India.

SB Energy grabbed its first project in India in December 2015 through competitive auction when it secured the entire 350 MW capacity on offer in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

05/29/2016 0 comment