India’s Hindustan Salts Tenders 1 Gigawatt Of Solar Capacity

Government-owned Hindustan Salts has invited bids for the development of 1 gigawatt of solar power capacity. 

Hindustan Salts has floated a tender inviting developers to set up and operate a 1 gigawatt solar power project in the western state of Gujarat. The company will provide 5,000 acres of land to the successful developers and charge them an annual rent. 

Developers will be responsible for setting up power evacuation infrastructure and secure all approvals required for construction and operation of the solar power project. 

Hindustan Salts plans to sell the power generated from this project and generate additional revenue. 

Following a push from the central government, many public sector companies have announced plans to set up large scale solar power projects. Companies with large areas of unused land, like Indian Railways and Coal India, have expressed interest and even issued tenders to set up projects. 

A major reason behind this government-led push is that India is falling behind its renewable energy capacity target. The government had set a target to have 175 gigawatts of installed capacity by December 2022, including 100 gigawatts of solar power and 60 gigawatts of  wind energy capacity. As of March 2022, solar power capacity was 54 gigawatts, while wind energy capacity was 40 gigawatts. Prime Minister Narendra Modi further enhanced the capacity target to 500 gigawatts by 2030, including 280 gigawatts of solar power capacity.