Bharathi Cement, a leading cement manufacturer, has commissioned a 10 MW ground-mounted solar power project in its manufacturing facility at Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh. The project is a part of its long-term plan for transition into renewables.

The project will generate nearly 10.6 million units of electricity annually and help reduce Bharathi’s overall energy cost by reducing its reliance on thermal power, the company said in a statement.

When contacted, the company, however, did not reveal the exact value of investment in the solar project.

The project was executed by Hyderabad-based Fourth Partner Energy in 60 days.

This solar project for captive electricity consumption is spread across 41 acres at Bharathi Cement’s 5MTPA manufacturing unit in Kadapa. French construction conglomerate, Vicat Group, owns a 51% stake in Bharathi Cement and operates this facility.

Prior to this, Vicat Group also engaged Fourth Partner Energy last year to set up a 1 MW solar project at Bharathi Polymers facility.

Vivek Subramanian, co-founder, at Fourth Partner Energy said, “Cement manufacturing is an extremely energy-intensive process. Moreover, the center’s focus on better infrastructure and affordable housing to all by 2022 implies this segment is ripe for growth. Our aim is to help businesses like Bharathi make the transition to cleaner energy sources while saving on their electricity bills.”

Speaking about the experience of installing solar projects in Andhra Pradesh, Vivek Subramanian added, “Fourth Partner Energy has executed over 20 projects in this state for clients like Walmart, Andhra Bank, D-Mart, and Visakhapatnam Smart City. Andhra Pradesh aims to add 5 GW of solar capacity by 2024 and Fourth Partner Energy will continue to work with the government and businesses to help achieve this target.”

Fourth Partner Energy has an operational portfolio of over 180 MWp of distributed solar assets across 23 states; and an additional capacity target of 350 MWp for the financial year (FY) 2020.

According to the India Solar Market Leaderboard –2019, Fourth Partner Energy was second in terms of rooftop installations in India in 2018.

Fourth Partner Energy, raised a $70 million investment from The Rise Fund, a global impact investment fund managed by TPG Growth last year. Fourth Partner Energy had then said that it would use this investment to strengthen its position in this emerging sector and accelerate its growth through the RESCO model across industrial and commercial corporate and public-sector clients.

Image credit: Grendelkhan [CC BY-SA 4.0]