Azure Power has commenced the construction of a 100 MW solar project at the Kurnool Ultra Mega Solar Park in Andhra Pradesh. The project is expected to be commissioned by June 2017.

The project is part of the 1,000 MW auctioned by NTPC under National Solar Mission (NSM) Phase-II Batch-II Tranche-I in December 2015 for the Kurnool Ultra Mega Solar Park. The power purchase agreements (PPAs) were signed between NTPC and Azure in March 2016, at a tariff of Rs.5.12 (~$0.0754)/kWh for a 25-year period.

The project is being developed under Domestic Content Requirement (DCR) category, as the auction was conducted before the World Trade Organization ruling, calling for scrapping of DCR category in auctions as it found that India’s localization rules discriminate against U.S. manufacturers.

Azure is speeding up installation activity after its recent fundraising activities, including pre-initial public offering (IPO), IPO and concurrent private placement. Azure Power recently raised close to $130 million through its IPO and a concurrent private placement.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Project Tracker, Azure Power has a utility-scale solar portfolio of 969 MW, out of which 340 MW are in-operation and 629 MW under various stages of development.