India is now seen as most attractive market for clean energy: PM Modi

The Prime Minister inaugurated Asia'a largest solar power park in Rewa, MP

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India has made exemplary progress in solar power and is now considered the most attractive market for clean energy.

He was speaking at a virtual conference after inaugurating a 750-Megawatt (Mw) solar power park in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh. Touted to be one of Asia’s largest solar power parks, it was commissioned in January and supplies power to Madhya Pradesh and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).

The project was bid out in 2017 when three companies — Mahindra Renewables, ACME Solar and Sprng Energy won 250 Mw each. 

The winning tariff was Rs 2.97-2.98 a unit in the first year and Rs 3.32 over the 25-year contract.

That was the first time the cost of solar power was lower than that of thermal in India. The project was built over an area of 1,550 hectares at Rs 4,305 crore.

One reason for the Rewa park receiving low bids is that the Madhya Pradesh government had provided assurances on power offtake and offered a sovereign guarantee in case of purchase default.

Modi said the project will make the entire region a major hub for pure and clean energy within this decade. “Solar energy projects are a true representation of Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India). Economy is an important aspect of self-reliance and progress. India has resolved the dilemma between ecology and economy by focussing on solar energy projects.”

The PM also called upon the domestic industry to drive the growth of solar power in India through indigenous goods and equipment. 

“India is reducing its dependence on imports of equipment needed for solar plants, such as photovoltaic cells, battery technology, etc. I want to encourage the industry, the youth, MSMEs and start-ups to not miss this opportunity and work for production and betterment of all the inputs required for solar energy,” he said at the virtual conference.

DMRC has been sourcing power from the project since 2019 to meet its daytime energy requirements. In a public statement, DMRC said it procures 345 MUs of solar energy per year from Rewa. 

“DMRC is meeting nearly 60 per cent of daytime energy requirements from Rewa and overall 32 per cent of the total energy requirements from this solar plant. With this, DMRC became one of the greenest Metros in the world,” the statement said.  

More than 80 per cent of the total energy produced from the solar park would be consumed by Madhya Pradesh. 

The project is expected to prevent 1.57 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

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