Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Signs PPA With Planned 750 MW Solar Park
Originally published on CleanTechies.
India’s largest subway system – Delhi Metro Rail Corporation – has signed a power purchase agreement with one of the largest solar projects planned in the country.
According to media reports, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has signed an agreement to purchase electricity generated from the planned 750 MW solar power park in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Power generated from the Rewa-based solar park will be transmitted to Delhi, around 800 kilometers away.
The 750 MW solar park will be one of the biggest in India once fully operational. The project is among the first ultra mega solar projects approved by the central government under its revised solar target of 100 GW by March 2022.
The solar park will be developed in 3 phases of 250 MW capacity each, spread over a total of 1,500 hectares. Power generation from the first phase is expected to start beginning in June 2017, with the entire capacity expected to be fully operational by December 2017.
Delhi Metro has agreed to procure at least 121 million kWh of electricity every year from the first phase. Once all the phases are operational, Delhi Metro may increase its procurement to 363 million kWh per year.
Earlier this year, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) signed an agreement with the government of the state of Madhya Pradesh in India to provide assistance in the implementation of the solar park. The IFC will extend its global expertise to structure and implement the transaction to help attract private investments of about $750 million. IFC’s work on this project will be supported by its partnership with Australia’s Department of Foreign Trade.
Reprinted with permission.
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“Power generated from the Rewa-based solar park will be transmitted to Delhi, around 800 kilometers away.”
Far more likely that the power will go to the local grid, and the Delhi subway will take power from their local grid, but billing will happen as though a direct connection actually existed.
Very interesting point. It would be hoped that all that imported clean energy would cut local power plants to help ease Delhi’s legendary smog. It turns out road dust is the leading cause of air pollution in Delhi.
India is power starved so it will be all the more difficult to shut down dirty fossil plants while any new renewable energy will be snapped right up.
One should be careful, dust from dirt roads and empty fields is very different then diesel fuses, NOX, coal ash. So what causes the visual portion and what impact health are different thing.
tell that to the coal miners…just say’n…dust is not friendly….