Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), Tiruchi, has initiated steps to install a 2-MW solar plant on its premises at an investment of Rs 17- 18 crore.
BHEL is on the threshold of coming out with a new product: solar thermal, whereby heat generated by the solar panels will be transferred to heat exchangers for producing steam that would drive turbines for power generation.
According to Mr A.V. Krishnan, Executive Director, BHEL, Tiruchi, the heat exchangers are to be manufactured in Tiruchi and solar panels will be supplied by BHEL's Electronics Division in Bangalore.
The plant, expected to be installed by 2015-17 with technical support from Spain's Abengoa will be in the range of 50-70 MW. He said that coal is becoming costly and solar power generation is getting cheaper. The cost of solar power has now come down to Rs 13 from Rs 18 some years back.
Cost of power from solar and thermal plants is expected to equalise by 2015. Earlier this year, BHEL joined hands with Abengoa, the European leader in the solar energy segment, to develop modern art concentrating solar power projects in India and an agreement was signed in Serville, Spain, by BHEL Chairman and Managing Director, Mr B.P.Rao, and Apengoa Solar Chairman and CEO, Mr. Santiago Seage, sources said.