Fortum commissioned a 70 MW solar project at Bhadla Phase-II Solar Park in Rajasthan under National Solar Mission (NSM) Phase-II, Batch-II, Tranche-I. The 70 MW solar project is Fortum’s third and so far biggest commissioned solar energy project, stated the company. The power purchase agreement for the project was signed in March 2016 with National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) for a 25-year period.

According to the Mercom’s India Solar Project Tracker, Fortum won the bid to develop the project by quoting Rs.4.34 (~$0.067)/kWh in the JNNSM Phase II Batch 2 auction in Rajasthan, which was a record low bid at that time. Module price decline of 30% last year was an unexpected bonus for the company. Fortum had also stated that the low bid was viable for them because they had access to internal financing, which reduced their borrowing costs by a significant margin. In fact, a Rs.4.34 (~$0.067)/kWh is very attractive right now considering the new record low is Rs.3.30 (~$0.494)/kWh logged at the REWA auction last month.

As of now, Fortum has commissioned solar projects aggregating 85 MW and has another 100 MW under development.

Image Credit: Fortum