Aditya Birla to complete 75 Mw solar plants in Odisha by June 2020

Firm to set up three units of 25 Mw each, has identified Boudh district for first plant; may develop another 100 Mw if it gets additional land

Aditya Birla Renewables Ltd, part of the diversified business conglomerate Aditya Birla Group, which had won a bid for developing 75 Mw solar power plant in Odisha, is expected to complete the project by June 2020.

“The company will develop the project, each of 25 Mw capacity and has identified Boudh district for developing the first 25 Mw unit. It has been mandated to complete 75 Mw solar capacity by June 2020. Gridco has signed the power purchase agreement (PPA) with Aditya Birla Renewables on December 20, 2018 for development of 75 Mw”, said a Gridco official.

If the company gets the land, it may develop another 100 Mw under the Greenshoe option, the official added.

Odisha in its first-ever solar auctions in July last year, had floated tender for 200 Mw. The tenders were oversubscribed four times with Aditya Birla Renewables emerging the L1 bidder. But the differential between L1 and the other bidders had unsettled Gridco authorities. Three players- were tied up at the L2 level with a price quote of Rs 3.19 per unit- Sukhbir Agro Energy Ltd, city-based Gupta Power Infrastructure Ltd and Eden Renewable Varenne Pvt Ltd, bagging 25 Mw, 20 Mw and 50 Mw capacities respectively. Acme Solar finished as the L3 bidder, quoting Rs 3.20 for 50 Mw unit.

Despite an appeal from Gridco authorities, L2 and L3 bidders did not scale down their price quotes to the L1 level. The bulk trader had to cancel the tenders for 125 Mw.

The installed solar power capacity in Odisha is 333 Mw but the state sources about 79 Mw from outside.

Private sector interest in Odisha's solar power sector had not seen enough traction until now as opposed to central PSUs who had a rush of proposals. NTPC, NLC Ltd, North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) and SJVN, a mini-ratna PSU, have evinced interest in participating in the state's solar park programme.