Anil Ambani-led Reliance Power has announced a major foray into the solar power arena.
A newly-formed subsidiary of the company has struck a deal with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for a 930 MW solar energy facility with a grid-enabled battery energy storage system project (BESS).
This will be the single largest solar and battery storage system project in Asia ex-China, Reliance Power said.
Reliance Power’s bid in SECI’s Tranche XVII auction secured a tariff of ₹3.53 ($0.0416)/kWh.
As per the terms of the tender, Reliance NU Suntech will also install a minimum storage capacity of 465 MW/1,860 MWh.
SECI will enter into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Reliance NU Suntech for a period of 25 years and the solar power procured will be sold to multiple discoms in India.
Reliance NU Suntech will develop the project on a build-own-operate basis and will have to connect to the interstate transmission system in compliance with Central Electricity Regulatory Commission regulations.
Sources added that since power will be supplied during peak hours, they do not anticipate any problems with regard to demand.
Apart from Reliance Power, Sembcorp Green Infra and three others NTPC Renewable Energy, Solarcraft Power India 8 (backed by the private equity major Actis), and Hero Solar Energy Pvt Ltd have also bagged projects at a tariff of ₹3.52 per kWh.
