According to an announcement made by senior government officials, the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh plans to enhance its solar power generation capacity to about 3 GW in the next two years.
Domestic as well as international developers are bidding aggressively for new projects in the state due to availability of vast barren land, high solar irradiation, and favourable solar policy in the state. The government of Madhya Pradesh has introduced single-window clearance for solar projects that is helping the developers in speedy implementation of the projects — the approval process was once considered to be the major reason for the project delays in the state.
The state government plans to build one of the largest solar power parks in the world, one with 750 MW of capacity, in the Rewa district. The project will be built on 1,500 acres of land and is expected to be operational by 2017. The state’s energy Minister, Rajendra Shukla announced that global tenders for the solar project will be sent out shortly.
Madhya Pradesh has always been on the forefront of the development of solar power. The current installed capacity stands at 650 MW, and 1,500 MW of projects are under implementation. The state’s installed solar capacity is currently placed third after Rajasthan and Gujarat. The state is also home to the largest solar power project in India developed by a single company.
Recently, Madhya Pradesh offered a capacity of 300 MW to prospective project developers. The tender was oversubscribed over 12 times with project developers offering to develop over 3.7 GW of capacity. The action yielded the lowest-ever solar power tariff in India.
Mauritius-based SkyPower Southeast Asia Holdings secured rights to develop 3 projects of 50 MW capacity each at tariffs ranging from Rs 5.051/kWh (7.95¢/kWh) to Rs 5.298/kWh (8.34¢/kWh).
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