BHEL Secures 1st Overseas Contract for Grid-Tied Solar Plant in Mauritius

BHEL has secured its maiden overseas turnkey contract for a grid-tied 8 MW solar power plant to be developed in Mauritius on an EPC basis.

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has announced that it has achieved another milestone in international business by securing its maiden overseas turnkey contract for a grid-connected 8 MW ac solar Photovoltaic (PV) power plant. The solar farm will be set up by BHEL at Tamarind Falls, Henrietta (Phase II), in Mauritius on an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) basis.

The contract for the project has been awarded to BHEL by CEB (Green Energy), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Central Electricity Board (CEB) of the Government of Mauritius. The contract agreement for the project was exchanged between the Mauritian and Indian sides during the visit of the Union Minister of External Affairs of India to Mauritius.

Significantly, the project is funded under the Government of India’s Line of Credit (LOC) and has been secured by BHEL through a competitive bidding process. The project will be executed by BHEL’s Solar Business Division, Bengaluru and International Operations Division, New Delhi. Notably, the solar project in Mauritius marks the consolidation of BHEL’s presence in Africa, where it has been active for more than four decades with electricity generation projects (approx. 2,100 MW) and equipment supplies in 23 African countries. 

Apart from conventional power plants (thermal, hydro & gas), BHEL has been contributing significantly to the development and promotion of solar energy over the past three decades. The firm offers EPC solutions for both grid-interactive and off-grid, ground-mounted, rooftop, floating and canal top solar plants, with a current solar portfolio of more than 1 GW. In addition, it is also involved in the manufacturing space-grade solar panels and batteries for space applications.

Recently, the firm had also invited bids to appoint a consulting firm to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for manufacturing in the solar PV value chain. The firm stated that in order to support the Aatmanirbhar Bharat campaign of the government, it is imperative that the dependence on imports be reduced. It believes that the Solar PV value chain holds substantial indigenisation potential especially upstream as there is no domestic polysilicon and wafer manufacturing capacity and minimal cell manufacturing capacity. Against this background, BHEL is exploring opportunities in manufacturing in the solar PV value chain.