Monday, August 12, 2013: The Samajwadi Party government will enter into agreements to the tune of Rs 23 billion with eight firms in the solar power sector. Until now, it is the biggest investment brought in Uttar Pradesh by the government since the institution of Solar Power Policy 2013. The State’s New and Renewable Energy Development Authority (NEDA) will sign an MoU with the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) for the establishment of a 100 MW solar power plant in Jalaun.
The MoU states that within three months, NHPC is supposed to set up a joint-venture. NEDA will be responsible for providing the land and contributing in terms of equity. Power generation will be taken care of by the power company. Once established, the 100 MW NHPC unit will become the largest solar plant unit in the country.
The government will also sign Pre-purchase Agreements (PPAs) with seven power companies for power generation accounting to a total of 130 MW. The rates of bidding ranges between Rs 8.01 to Rs 9.33 per unit. Therefore, the state government under the PPA is willing to purchase power for a period of 12 years. The cost of transmission infrastructure is supposed to be incurred by the state government in accordance with the agreed arrangement. The production companies will bear the remaining overheads.
