CleanMax Solar commits Rs 1,200 cr for Karnataka
In an interaction with DH, CleanMax Solar South India Business Development Head Andrew Hines said the company will set up a solar farm with a total capacity of 200 mW. “Besides rooftop solar plant, we are present in supplying power from a solar farm to the grid. With a progressive policy of Karnataka, we are planning a long-term investment of producing 200 mW,” he said. CleanMax has commissioned 30 mW solar farm in Tumakuru district in March 2016. “Our second farm is expected to come up in March, and that will be another 50 to 60 mW. Karnataka solar policy provides some sort of incentives for solar plants, set up until March 2018. Under that window we are looking to set up a plant of approximately 200 mW,” he said.
Hines said each mega watt will have a capex investment of Rs 6 crore and so the total investment for 200 mW will be Rs 1,200 crore. Besides, 0.5 mW rooftop solar plant at Bengaluru airport, the company also plans to come up another project with Bangalore Metro. “We are India’s largest supplier of solar power under the corporate sector with different models. The first one is we install rooftop solar plant and supply directly to them. The second model is we supply power from a solar farm in a rural area into the grid and then the corporate consumer can avail it,” he said. He said in corporate model, the company offers investment. “Then we own and operate the plant for 20–25 years and sell the solar power to our customers. From our customers’ perspective, it is a zero investment opportunity for them. So all they have to do is get into a contract with us to buy the solar power that will also be at a discount of whatever their power supplier offers,” he said.
“There are two ways that we raise capital — One from within the company itself and the second for a particular project. So, for a specific project we can raise some capital at a project level also,” he said. The Mumbai-headquartered ClearMax has completed 72 projects across 20 plus industries with presence in Rajastahn, NCR, Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.
