NHPC had awarded the contracts for one of India’s largest solar power tenders to 3 entities under CPSU scheme
NEW DELHI : As part of its diversification drive, India’s largest hydropower generation firm NHPC Ltd expects to commission the 1 gigawatt solar power project awarded recently by November 2023, said a top company executive.
The state-run company had awarded the contracts for one of India’s largest solar power projects to three entities under Central Public Sector Undertakings (CPSU) scheme, which mandates the use of domestically produced cells and modules. Adani Infra bagged the contract for producing 600 MW, Tata Power Solar for 300 MW and a joint venture of Sri Sai will set up 100 MW capacity.
India rolled out the scheme for state-run firms to build solar capacity with a viability gap funding component. The government plans to award large solar contracts to expedite its target of reaching 500 GW of non-fossil fuel power generation capacity by 2030, from an existing capacity of 153 GW.
“We have power sale agreements and power purchase agreements available with us. We had the tie-ups and awarded the contracts. The construction is underway,” said NHPC chairman and managing director Abhay Kumar Singh.
This comes in the backdrop of the government imposing 40% basic customs duty (BCD) on solar modules and 25% on solar cells from April to discourage imports. In addition to the ₹4,500 crore production-linked incentive scheme for solar photovoltaic modules which was announced earlier, the budget allocated another ₹19,500 crore for manufacturing high-efficiency solar modules under the PLI scheme.
One of the largest tenders in India’s green energy space was awarded by NHPC through a request for selection process, for buying solar power at ₹2.45 per unit. It will sell the electricity to discoms, and earn 7 paise on every unit sold. “The solar plants will be maintained by the generators for 10 years,” Singh said.
Source: livemint
