Azure Power to invest Rs 180 cr in Gujarat

Solar power producer Azure Power said it will invest about Rs 180 crore (USD 40 million) in Gujarat to develop a 15-MW (mega watt) solar photovoltaic power plant.

"We are excited to work with the Gujarat state government for our upcoming project and expect to develop several additional projects in this progressive state," Azure Power CEO Inderpreet Wadhwa said at Delhi International Renewable Energy Conference here.

The company has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement with Gujarat for the Rs 180-crore project, which is expected to be commissioned by mid-2011.

"We have set up a target of 1,000-MW established solar power generation capacity by the end of 2012 and 3,000 Mw in next five years. We are happy to welcome Azure to the state of Gujarat," Gujarat Principal Secretary for Energy and Petrochemicals D J Pandian said.

Azure claimed that the proposed plant once fully operational, will employ most advanced solar photovoltaic technology and eliminate as much carbon dioxide pollution, as 2.5 million trees would do in an year.

The project will be financed by Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), an agency of the United States Government that helps US businesses invest overseas and promotes economic development in new and emerging markets, Azure added.

Other investors in the project include International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of World Bank group, Bangalore-based Helion Advisors and a California-based venture capital firm.

Azure Power has already operationalised India’s first private MW-scale solar power plant in Punjab in 2009.