India PV News Snippets

SJVN has signed MoU with APDCL to build 1 GW floating solar in Assam, and won rights to develop 105 MW floating PV project from MAHAGENCO; Tata Motors to get 7 MW solar plant from Tata Power for Pantnagar plant; Vatsaa to provide floating solar project consultancy to GSECL; Excel to venture into solar power business.

1 GW floating solar power capacity in Assam: State owned hydro power generator SJVN Limited will develop 1 GW floating solar power capacity in Assam under a memorandum of understanding (MoU). The MoU was signed between SJVN's wholly owned subsidiary SJVN Green Energy Limited (SGEL) and Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL). The duo will launch a joint venture (JV) company that will aim to generate 2,192 million units in the 1^st year of commissioning and around 50,425 million units cumulatively over 25 years. SJVN will invest INR 60 billion ($724 million) to develop the project, the company announced in a stock exchange filing.

SJVN separately announced it has secured rights to develop a 105 MW floating solar project in Maharashtra for Maharashtra State Power Generation Company (MAHAGENCO). It won the reverse auction for the project at INR 3.93 per kWh and will set up the facility on build-own-operate (BOO) basis.

7 MW solar project for Tata Motors: Tata Group's Tata Motors has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) for a 7 MW captive solar power plant to be installed at its Pantnagar plant in Uttarakhand. To be installed by Tata Power, the project will generate 215 million units annually helping the steel manufacturer mitigate its carbon emissions. To date, Tata Power says it has installed 45 MW rooftop solar capacity across Tata Motors' PV and CV plants in Pune, Pantnagar, Jamshedpur and Dharwar. Tata Motors aims to become 100% renewable energy powered as a signatory to the RE100 by 2030.

Vatsaa Energy to set up floating solar plants in Gujarat: A campus start-up at Wayanad Government Engineering College, and now a private entity in Kerala, Vatsaa Energy Private Limited (VEPL) has joined hands with the Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Limited (GSECL) to set up floating solar power plants. A floating solar consultant, the company recently secured a letter of intent (LOI) from the discom. Vatsaa will evaluate the techno-commercial viability of floating solar power plants in various waterbodies of the state. It will help the utility in project planning and management as GSECL targets to produce 1.5 GW solar power from floating PV projects by 2025-end, reported local daily The Hindu.

Real estate company to enter solar industry: A real estate firm Excel Realty N Infra has announced its diversification into the solar power segment. The company will enter a JV with Seven Greens Solar Systems Pvt Ltd and explore business opportunities which it hopes will double its turnover and gross profits. Referring to the Indian government's Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for domestic solar manufacturing and efforts to accelerate rooftop solar installations, Excel said it sees an increase in financial opportunities in the space. "Solar Energy in India has vast potential. Using sunlight as an energy source emerged during the industrial ages. The future looks very bright because sunlight will never exhaust," it stated in an official statement.