The Government of Gujarat has awarded 479 MW of solar projects to various developers under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Uthan Mahabhiyaan (PM KUSUM).

The projects were tendered for feeder-level solarization under Component C of the PM KUSUM program and are expected to be operational by the end of 2024.

The winning companies include Onix Renewable, Indian Infrastructure and Project India, WAA Solar, Raghuvir Avenues, and GreenBloom Energy, among others.

The quoted tariffs ranged from ₹2.87(~$0.0345)/kWh to ₹3.00(~$0.0360)/kWh.

The tariff range and the capacities allocated to the winners are mentioned in the table:

These projects will be distributed across 170 locations in Gujarat.

Power purchase agreements have been signed with the state electricity distribution company, Paschim Gujarat Vij.

Under the PM Kusum program, agriculture feeders that are already segregated or primarily support agricultural loads can be solarized by installing grid-connected solar projects to meet their annual power needs.

The total annual power requirements for an agriculture feeder will be assessed, and a solar project of sufficient capacity will be installed through either CAPEX or RESCO mode.

Solar power projects can be installed at the feeder level to meet the power needs of a single feeder or multiple agriculture feeders from a distribution sub-station, feeding power at 11 KV or higher voltage, depending on land availability and technical feasibility.

According to the guidelines, the cost of a solar project is benchmarked at ₹35 million (~$420214)/MW with central financial assistance (CFA) of ₹10.5 million (~$126064)/MW.

The program allows solarization of agricultural pump sets of any capacity, but for pumps above 7.5 HP, the CFA will be limited to the solar capacity for 7.5 HP pumps.

The solar capacity required for agricultural pumps’ load (up to 7.5 HP) on the feeder will be determined with a fixed capacity utilization factor (CUF) of 19%. The annual CUF will be calculated from April 1 to March 31 each year.

The tender mandated the use of domestically manufactured modules from the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers issued by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

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