Odisha's power trader Gridco to buy 40 Mw solar power from NHPC's project

NHPC Ltd has proposed to set up the solar plant in Odisha's Ganjam district, at an investment of Rs 1.96 billion

Gridco, Odisha's bulk power procurer and trader has expressed interest to purchase 40 Mw solar power from NHPC Ltd. 

The hydropower generation company has proposed to set up the 40-Mw solar plant in Odisha with an investment of about Rs 1.96 billion.

The state technical committee, under the chairmanship of the energy department's secretary, has approved the proposal of NHPC.

The solar power project will come up on about 180 acres of land in the Ganjam district.

“We have sought the details of the project from NHPC regarding land and evacuation of the power. Then, we will issue the Letter of Intent for the purchase of power from the company”, said an official.

The land required for the project will be allotted by state nodal agency Idco (Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation) and the power produced will be evacuated by Odisha Power Transmission Corporation Ltd (OPTCL).

“We will sign the power purchase agreement (PPA) with NHPC at a rate to which will be fixed only after the calculating the cost of the components like land, evacuation of power,  Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) required for developing the project”, the official added.

Last year, NHPC had evinced interest for setting up a 100-200-Mw solar project in Odisha for the supply of power to Gridco so that the latter could fulfill its renewable energy purchase obligation with an assured power purchase agreement (PPA).

The central PSU has already commissioned a 50 Mw solar project in Tamil Nadu and another 50-Mw wind power project in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.

Betting big on solar projects, NHPC had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) on November 30, 2015, for the development of a 250 Mw grid-connected solar power project in a time frame of five years in association with SECI.

The hydropower generator had expressed its willingness to participate in the 1,000 Mw solar power park scheme coming up in Odisha.