Indian central public sector undertaking (PSU), NLC India Limited will build an 810 MW solar power plant in Rajasthan's Bikaner after winning a Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (RRVUNL) auction. It has secured a letter of intent (LOI) from the state agency.
The project is part of a 2 GW Ultra Mega Solar Park that RRVUNL is developing in Bikaner's Pugal tehsil/sub-district in the state. RRVUNL had launched the competitive tender in December 2022 and selected NLC that works under the federal Ministry of Coal.
It is expected to generate more than 50 billion units of solar power once it is online, considering the high solar irradiation in the state. RRVUNL will provide land for the project as well as power evacuation system to NLC.
An official statement from the Coal Ministry reads, "With this project, the capacity of power project in Rajasthan will be 1.36 GW including 1.1 GW of green power, bringing economies of scale and optimized fixed costs."
Rajasthan currently is on top of the list among all regions of India to have the largest amount of solar PV capacity installed exceeding 18 GW, as of September 30, 2023. This includes over 14 GW of ground-mounted PV. Under the Rajasthan Energy Policy 2050, the state aims to install 90 GW of combined solar and wind power capacity by 2030.