The Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR) in Gujarat is expected to issue its first 1,000 MW tender next month, a senior official told PTI.

Earlier, Mercom reported that the Gujarat government approved the establishment of a 5,000 MW solar park in the Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR). The park is expected to cover an area of more than 27,000 acres upon completion.

“This is going to be the largest single-location ultra mega solar park of 5,000 MW in the country. We are hopeful of inviting bids for the first 1,000 MW in the next one month,” Jai Prakash Shivahare, managing director of Dholera Industrial City Development Corporation (DICDC) told PTI.

The Gujarat Power Corporation (GPCL), Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam (GUVNL), Gujarat Electric Transmission Corporation (GETCO), and Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) are implementing the project.

M.K. Das, the principal secretary in the government of Gujarat, told PTI, “We expect very good response as the capacity we are offering is massive, which will not only give economies of scale to developers, but also benefit from development happening in the Dholera region.”

This greenfield project is expected to attract investments worth ₹250 billion (~$3.84 billion) and provide employment opportunities to more than 20,000 individuals.

Recently, the Gujarat government announced a new solar plus wind hybrid power policy in a bid to promote the simultaneous production of wind and solar power in the state.

The state government has also planned a 200 MW wind park with an investment of ₹14 billion (~$0.20 billion) in Dholera.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Project Tracker, Gujarat has ~1.4 GW of large-scale solar projects in operation and over 500 MW under development. Solar installations in 2017 totaled just 282 MW in the state and its solar RPO is set at 4.25 percent for 2018-19.

Image credit: Greenko

Nitin is a staff reporter at Mercomindia.com and writes on renewable energy and related sectors. Prior to Mercom, Nitin has worked for CNN IBN, India News, Agricultural Spectrum and Bureaucracy Today. He received his bachelor’s degree in Journalism & Communication from Manipal Institute of Communication at Manipal University and Master’s degree in International Relations from Jindal School of International Affairs. More articles from Nitin Kabeer