Engie crossed the 1 gigawatt of installed solar power capacity milestone in India after commissioning a 200-megawatt project.
According to media reports, a subsidiary of French utility Engie has commissioned a 200-megawatt solar power project in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The project is part of the Raghanesda solar power park and company’s second-largest solar project in the country.
The company expects annual generation from the plant to be around 550 million kilowatt-hours, resulting in the reduction of around 400,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. Engie’s India solar capacity now stands at 1.1 gigawatts. The company also has 280 megawatts of wind power capacity operational.
Engie’s path to become a major renewable power developer is India has not been easy and the company had reportedly been looking to sell a stake in its assets.
Engie struggled for months to get a buyer for its 250-megawatt solar power project in the state of Andhra Pradesh. It had secured rights to develop this project through an auction at a very competitive tariff of Rs 3.15 per kilowatt-hour. However, utilities in Andhra Pradesh initially refused to buy at this tariff arguing that tariffs in subsequent auctions were much lower. After intense negotiations at the state and central government levels, the state utilities agreed to buy the power.
Two years back there were media reports that Engie may be looking to sell its projects. Global Infrastructure Partners and investment firms Actis and Edelweiss Infrastructure Yield Plus Fund were said to have expressed interest in Engie’s projects. The current status of this potential transaction remains unknown.
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