Tata group promoted Tata Power Company Limited has entered into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (GUVNL) for a 25 Mw solar photovoltaic power project being developed at Mithapur in Gujarat.
In an announcement made today, the company informed that the PPA was signed with GUVNL on December 18 2010. The 25 Mw plant at Mithapur is being developed under Solar Power Policy 2009 announced by the Gujarat government and is expected to be commissioned by December 2011.
"Spread over 100 acres of land, the solar plant will be located along the coast of Gujarat. For this project, Tata Power has chosen Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic technology, which is modular, proven and widely deployed," the company said in a release.
Commenting on the signing of the PPA, Prasad R Menon, managing director, Tata Power, said, "The signing of the Power Purchase Agreement with Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited is a step in the right direction and we look forward to participating in many such initiatives in solar power."
The company had set up its first solar power plant of 100 kW in 1996 at Walwhan in Lonavla, and is currently executing a 3 MW solar photovoltaic plant at Mulshi, one of the largest grid-connected solar projects in the state of Maharashtra.
"The company's strategy emphasises the development of clean energy generation from renewable sources to balance the carbon emissions from fossil fuel based generation capacity while contributing towards energy security of the country," the statement added.
GUVNL, the state run power generation, distribution and transmission company, has so far signed PPAs with 26 solar power companies for 365 Mw. Development of these projects is likely to attract investment of Rs 5,500 crore in the state.
In order to encourage project developers to take up solar power projects in the state, Gujarat government has recently decided to allot additional 565 Mw capacity to various solar power project developers. As many as 58 players have been finalised for the allocation. Earlier, the state government had allocated 716 Mw generation capacity to 34 national and international project developers in the first round.