First tender for 1,000-mw solar capacity in DSIR likely in Aug

The first tender for the 1,000-megawatt (mw) solar capacity in the Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR) in Gujarat is likely to be issued next month, a senior official has said.

The DSIR is proposed to have a 5,000-mw solar park, at an estimated cost of Rs 25,000 crore, and spread across 11,000 hectare.

"This is going to be the largest single-location ultra mega solar park of 5,000 mw in the country. We are hopeful of inviting bids for the first 1,000 mw in the next one month," Dholera Industrial City Development Corporation (DICDC) managing director Jai Prakash Shivahare said at a select media interaction here over the weekend.

He further said the greenfield project is expected to generate more than 20,000 jobs.

Gujarat Power Corporation (GPCL), Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam (GUVNL) and Gujarat Electric Transmission Corporation (GETCO) along with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) are implementing the project.

Gujarat principal secretary to the chief minister, MK Das, said the state expects good response for the bids.

"After we decided to go slow on the solar power capacity addition due to higher costs, we are now getting back to it in a big way. Also now that the prices have come down, we want to take advantage of this market," he said.

Das said, "We expect very good response as the capacity we are offering is massive, which will not only give economies of scale to the developers, but also benefit from the development happening in the Dholera region ."