Renew Power Commissions 250 MW Solar project In Rajasthan

ReNew Power today announced the commissioning of 250 MW capacity of its Interstate Transmission System (ISTS) solar generation project, SECI-3. The project has a total generation capacity of 300 MW which was won by ReNew Power in tranche 3 of the competitive auction conducted by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). ReNew expects the remaining 50 MW capacity to be commissioned by the end of this month.

This solar project is in the Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan and has a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with SECI and will provide clean electricity to the state of Bihar at a rate of INR 2.55/kWh (~US$ 0.035). The project is also expected to provide direct employment to around 600 people, according to the firm.

In this project, ReNew has installed monocrystalline modules with fixed tilt and string inverters which enhance the project efficiency. ReNew will also be using robotic module cleaning at this site to help conserve water in the desert state of Rajasthan.

Speaking about the commissioning, Founder, Chairman and CEO of ReNew Power, Sumant Sinha said, “With this commissioning, ReNew Power continues to contribute significantly to India’s growing renewable energy capacity in line with the country’s ambitious targets of achieving a capacity of 450 GW by 2030. This is the first project to be commissioned after ReNew started trading on NASDAQ (RNW) and is another step towards ReNew achieving close to 18 GW of installed renewable energy capacity by 2025. I am delighted that our teams were able to commission this project within the budget as well as within the stipulated time despite COVID related challenges.”

As of August 31, 2021, ReNew Power has a total capacity of 10.2 GW out of which 5.8 GW is operational across wind, solar and hydro energy projects in India and the rest is under construction or in the pipeline.

The latest commissioning from the firm adds to a string of projects going online this year, and further strengthens the odds of 2021 being the best year on record for fresh capacity creation. While industry estimated for 2021 have put a possible number between 8.5GW to 9 GW for this year, steps taken to clear obstacles by the MNRE seem to have borne fruit, and we might actually see the magic 10 GW number reached too