Gujarat state-owned electricity utility, GUVNL, has signed a 25-year agreement to buy electricity from NLC India Green Energy Ltd’s (NIGEL) 600-MW solar plant at ₹2.705 a kWhr.
NIGEL, a wholly owned subsidiary of the public sector lignite mining-cum-power generation company NLC India Ltd, has won two solar power projects — 600 MW in Gujarat and 810 MW in Rajasthan — through open tenders.
The power-purchase agreement (PPA) with GUVNL involves the 600-MW project coming up at Khavda solar park in Bhuj district, Gujarat. The project is expected to be commissioned in June 2025.
A press release from NLC India said the plant would generate 1,577.88 million kWhr of electricity, or 2.63 million units per MW. At a tariff of ₹2.705, the projected generation translates into revenue of ₹427 crore.
An official of NIGEL told businessline that there would be high power generation since the project would use bifacial modules of high DC-to-AC conversion ratio, and given the good solar irradiation at Khavda.
He said the 810-MW plant at Rajasthan boasted similar advantages. The deal with Rajasthan was struck at ₹2.64 a kWhr; the revenue from the plant would be ₹560 crore a year.
When the two projects are up and running, NIGEL would become a ₹1,000-crore company. NIGEL next targets renewable energy capacity of 6,000 MW by 2030.
For the Gujarat and Rajasthan solar projects, NIGEL will invest ₹4,000 crore and ₹4,800 crore, respectively, NLC India Chairman and Managing Director Prasanna Kumar Motupalli had told businessline recently.