SunEdison eyes Karnataka with 5 GW solar projects

The US firm had committed Rs 25,000-cr on Monday

After committing Rs 25,000-crore investment in Gujarat, SunEdison today announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Karnataka government for developing 5 GW of renewable energy over the next five years.

The electricity generated by these projects will be cost competitive with coal-produced electricity, without subsidies or incentives, and will ease the electricity deficit that Karnataka currently experiences.

The Karnataka government will explore location options with SunEdison to find suitable government land on which to construct the projects and will facilitate construction of the infrastructure required to connect the projects to the grid. The agreement includes details of an immediate plan to implement between 1,000 megawatts and 1,500 megawatts before December 31, 2016.

“Karnataka’s comprehensive energy policy paves the way for socially and environmentally responsible economic growth and prosperity by addressing the energy needs of utility customers, distributed generation customers, and farmers who can benefit from solar water pumps for irrigation,” said Pashupathy Gopalan, President, SunEdison (Asia-Pacific).