First Solar starts 20 MW solar power plant in Telangana commercially
First Solar starts its first Solar project in India. The company started the commercial operation of its 20 MW solar plant in Telangana in India. The company has plans to build up 200 MW of solar portfolio in the growing market of India. This 20 MW plant is a part of this target. First Solar will be able to sell power through this plant and has entered 20-year power purchase agreement to sell power to the state’s power utility.
India has become a hot solar market recently, with big foreign solar companies also showing immense interest in our country. First Solar has targeted setting up ~5 GW of green energy projects in India by 2019. First Solar has been long present in India selling its thin film modules in the country. The company benefited from a loophole in JNNSM’s domestic content provision, which implied that solar developers could buy thin film technology from foreign companies. Since then First Solar has been successful in forming a competitive position in India. Besides the above mentioned solar plant project, the company is planning to set up another 25 MW of solar capacity in the Telangana state. The company will receive INR 6.49/ kWh of the power it sells in India.
The main problem in India is the ambiguity in execution. Though India has set up impressive targets of 100 GW of solar installation, it still needs a clearer pathway to achieve those targets. It will be a better for the country to witness such expansions in a timely manner. As I have already mentioned earlier, India is going to see huge capacity installations and expansions and many foreign companies are eyeing this time as a big opportunity to expand and enter into the Indian markets.
Other companies expanding in India are:
- SunEdison, which has plans to build solar panels in Gujarat, India. The company acquired two Indian renewable energy portfolios totaling 140 MW in May this year.
- JA Solar, which will be setting up a joint venture with Essel Infraprojects Limited of India for establishing 500 MW solar cell and module manufacturing facility.
- Trina Solar, which will supply 48 MW of its Honey modules for two ground-mounted solar power plants in India.
“The project will not only increase India’s clean energy output, but also support the penetration of solar energy in the generation mix in the country,” First Solar India Country Head Sujoy Ghosh said.
Source: Indiatimes
