Azure Power commissions solar power plant in UP, India

Indian solar power producer Azure Power has commissioned a 40-megawatt (MW) solar power plant in the state of Uttar Pradesh (UP).

The project is spread across an area of about 225 acres and has been setup under the government’s National Solar Mission Phase-II Batch-III Tranche III.

Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), a Government of India enterprise auctioned the project.

For the next 25 years, Azure Power will supply power to SECI at a levelised tariff of US7.7 cents per kWh, which is inclusive of viability gap funding (VGF).

Azure Power founder, chairman and CEO Inderpreet Wadhwa said: “With the commissioning of this plant, we have once again demonstrated our strong project development, engineering, and execution capabilities.

“We are delighted to make a contribution towards the realisation of our Prime Minister’s commitment towards clean and green energy, through solar power generation. Our sincere gratitude to SECI and the state of Uttar Pradesh for all the cooperation and support extended.”

According to the Central Electricity Authority, UP is the most populous state in the country and has a large peak energy supply deficit.

Azure Power is said to have built the first utility scale solar project in the state in 2015.

The company constructed India’s first private utility scale solar PV power plant in 2009 and also implemented the first MW scale rooftop project under the smart city initiative in 2013.