Gujarat – home state of Indian Prime Minister and solar enthusiast Narendra Modi's – has revealed plans to develop a massive 5 GW solar power park. The State Chief Minister Vijay Rupani announced on Twitter that the project will be located in the Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR).
DSIR is a new industrial zone encouraging companies to set up manufacturing units. It is strategically located near the industrial cities of Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat and Bhavnagar.
The 5 GW park will be located along the Gulf of Khambhat in DSIR on a contiguous stretch of land spread over 11,000 hectares. The government expects investments worth 250 billion INR ($3.84 billion) and new jobs for more than 20,000 people. It would also ensure enough sustainable power for the industrial zone.
Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and Gujarat Energy Development Agency (GEDA) are on board of the project, according to Mercom India Research. There is no other information shared by the agencies about the park, but tendering activity will follow post infrastructural development starts. The government is confident of land availability for the project.
Under the National Solar Mission through which India wants to achieve 100 GW of solar power capacity by 2022, Gujarat needs to contribute 8,020 MW, as per the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). As of January 2018, the state had an installed solar power capacity of around 1.4 GW, according
Recently, the Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL) issued a 500 MW solar power tender with an additional greenshoe option of 500 MW (see 500 MW PV Tender For India's Gujarat).