• Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corporation Limited had floated tender for a 5 MW solar power plant in 2015
  • The PV plant has come up on the bund of Polavaram Right Canal in West Godavari District
  • It was commissioned today and will add to the state’s 10 GW of installed solar power capacity goal for 2022

The state of Andhra Pradesh has commissioned the 5 MW Polavaram Right Canal Bund Solar Power Plant today through Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. The plant is located at Gollagudem village in Ungutur mandal of West Godavari District. The tender for this project was floated last year by the Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corporation Limited (APGENCO).

The 5 MW grid connected solar PV crystalline power plant has been set up for a total of 375.8 million INR ($5.51 million). It also received subsidy from the central government worth $75 million ($1.1 million). The bund is a raised structure to control water. The plant is spread over 37 acres, according to an agency report.

Principal Secretary of Energy and Infrastructure Ajay Jain said that the state currently has a solar power capacity of around 1,000 MW, which is expected to double by March 2017 with the commissioning of the 1,000 MW Kurnool Ultra Mega Solar Park. Andhra Pradesh is developing a combined capacity of 4,000 MW of solar parks through the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). Two more parks namely, 1,000 MW capacity Kadapa and 2,000 MW capacity Anantapuramu, are likely to come online in a phased manner by 2019.

Andhra Pradesh has a target of achieving 10,000 MW of solar power generation by 2022. It is also planning to have 3,000 MW of hybrid wind and solar power capacity by 2019-20 (see Andhra Pradesh ‘Wind Solar Hybrid Power’ Policy).