Thursday, November 27, 2014: Owing to the emerging popularity of Madhya Pradesh as a solar power hub, many private players including Tata Power have shown interest in setting up the power plant in the state, according to the senior state government official.
The state currently involves an operational capacity of 356 MW of solar power coming from across 114 projects within the state, it is expected to go up till 700 MW this fiscal. Madhya Pradesh additional chief secretary for New and Renewable Energy SD Mohanty said, “Various public and private sector firms are coming forward to set up solar projects in the state. Tata Power is also planning to set up around 240 MW solar project here.”
He further added that at present 36 projects with a total capacity of 696 MW are under different stages of implementation among which seven are under the Centre’s National Solar Mission. Also to implement the project, Tata Power has bought in the US-based solar power solutions provider SunEdison.
An official on condition of anonymity noted, “SunEdison will be implementing the project for Tata Power. SunEdison will also bring in the funds required for setting up the project.” However Tata Power when asked about the same said, “We have requested the Madhya Pradesh government to provide us land for establishing large solar facility. If that’s granted, we would be keen to pursue solar plant in MP.”