The state of Maharashtra is set to get its fully commissioned 150 MW solar power plant by the end of March this year. The Rs 16 billion plant is coming up near Nizampur village in Dhule district in the state. The region is known for its positioning on the tropic of cancer line, which results in high amount of solar radiation.
V S Patil, executive director (solar power generation) of the Maharashtra state power generation company ltd (MSPGCL), has reportedly said that, “The Dhule plant would be the first solar power project that will be connected to the national grid.” Patil said,”A German investment bank has given 250 million euros (Rs 16 billion) for this project.The state power generation company has awarded the contract to construct and install the power plant to Lanco Infra, Megha Engineering and Prithvi Infra.”
The solar panels spread over 350 hectares of barren land will have ‘thin film’ and ‘crystalline’ technology based photovoltaic cells.The aim is to maximize the output from the solar panels. The efficiency of the power panels is 20 per cent of the total heat absorption, he added.
Patil said, “The solar panels, inverters and other equipment have started arriving in the state.Installation of panels has also started and after some preliminary tests the panel installation and inter-connection will be done.”
The proposal for the project came from the Union government, who demanded for region with high radiation, bright sunlight and dry climatic conditions and Dhule perfectly fits the requirement.