Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) announced its plans to set up an 8 MW solar project at Tamarind Falls, Henrietta (Phase-II), Mauritius. This would be its first overseas turnkey contract for grid-connected solar projects.

BHEL will provide engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services for this solar project. The contract was awarded to BHEL by CEB (Green Energy) Company Limited, Mauritius – a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Mauritius Government’s Central Electricity Board.

BHEL secured the project in a competitive bidding process. The project is being funded under the Government of India’s line of credit. BHEL’s Solar Business Division in Bengaluru and its International Operations Division in New Delhi would be implementing the projects.

This project is BHEL’s first grid-connected solar project in Mauritius. This also consolidated its presence in the African continent, where it runs over 2.1 GW of power generation projects and supplies equipment in over 23 countries.

In October 2020, BHEL floated a tender for the manufacture and supply of about 32 MW of crystalline photovoltaic solar modules. The modules would be exported to Djermaya in the African nation of Chad.

The Indian Government-owned enterprise also recently said it was exploring opportunities in the solar manufacturing domain to help reduce India’s dependence on imports and to support the government’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat program. It needs consultants to identify opportunities in entering, expanding, or backward integrating into the PV manufacturing sector.

In line with this, BHEL invited bids for consulting firms to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) on the solar photovoltaics manufacturing value chain. The scope of work includes conducting consulting engagement activities like market research, sectoral assessment, market entry strategy, business modeling, and feasibility studies.

Last year, The Agricultural Marketing Board (AMB) of the Government of Mauritius invited bids to construct a solar project at AMB in the Moka district in the central plateau of the island. The AMB operates under the Ministry of Agro-Industry and Food Security of Mauritius.