India has about 35,000 megawatt of total installed capacity of solar power.

Tata Power will develop a 100 MW solar project in Maharashtra, the company announced today just days after it secured a solar project development in Gujarat. “Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited (TPREL) has received a letter of award from Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co Ltd (MSEDCL) to develop a 100 MW solar project in Maharashtra,” the company said in a BSE filing on Friday. Just a few days ago, Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd had also received a letter of award from Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (GUVNL) for a 120 MW solar project in the state.

Currently, India has about 35,000 megawatt of total installed capacity of solar power, which is less than 10% of India’s total power generation at 3,70,348 megawatt, inclusive of wind energy, coal energy etc. 

Under the latest project, Tata Power will supply energy to MSEDCL under a power purchase agreement which will be valid for a period of 25 years from scheduled commercial operation date. The project is required to be commissioned within 18 months from the date that power purchase agreement was executed. “With this award, the cumulative capacity of renewables will be 3,557 MW,” Praveer Sinha, CEO and MD, Tata Power, said. The plant is likely to generate about 240 million units of energy per annum, and will annually offset approximately 240 million kg of CO2. With the latest project, Tata Power’s renewable capacity will increase to 3,557 megawatt, out of which 2,637 megawatt is operational and 920 megawatt is under implementation. This includes 100 megawatt won under this letter of award, the company said.

Meanwhile, Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd will supply energy to GUVNL under a power purchase agreement which is valid for a period of 25 years from scheduled commercial operation date. TPREL bagged the project development award in a bid announced by GUVNL under phase 8 in February this year. The Gujarat plant is expected to generate about 300 million units of energy every year and will offset nearly 300 million kg of Carbon Dioxide per year. “We hope to continue to build on our capabilities, deliver over expectations and create high benchmarks all around,” Ashish Khanna, President for Renewables Division at Tata Power, had said earlier.