UK-based solar company Lightsource BP said today it has commissioned its first utility-scale solar project in India, a 60-MWp solar farm located in Wagdari in the state of Maharashtra.
The project was financed jointly with UK Climate Investments (UKCI). The Indian solar partnership between Lightsource and UKCI, a joint venture between the Green Investment Group and the UK government’s Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), was announced in October last year and the 60-MWp project in Maharashtra is its seed asset. UKCI provided 49% of the equity for the initial project. Lightsource was rebranded Lightsource BP after a deal at the end of 2017 for UK oil and gas giant BP Plc (LON:BP) to acquire a 43% stake in the solar developer.
Lightsource BP secured the 60-MWp project in a 450-MW tender by the Indian government, managed by Solar Energy Corporation India (SECI). The solar farm uses 200,000 Longi Solar panels and was completed in line with the power purchase agreement (PPA) time schedule, Lightsource BP said.
India’s Sterling and Wilson and Longi Solar, a unit of Chinese solar products maker Longi Green Energy Technology Co Ltd (SHA:601012), were responsible for the provision of construction, photovoltaic (PV) modules and technical expertise, while Rabobank of the Netherlands provided project finance.
“The UK has a track record of exporting our home-grown expertise to the rest of the world and this partnership is a perfect example of the public and private sectors working together to deliver our respective climate, development and growth objectives that will benefit the entire planet,” said UK energy and clean growth minister Claire Perry.
Source: renewablesnow
