350 MW is Operational; 650 MW to be Commissioned

The entire Kurnool Ultra Mega Solar Park of 1,000 MW capacity is expected to be connected to the grid by the end of April 2017. The Kurnool Solar Park is being implemented by Andhra Pradesh Solar Power Corporation Private Limited (APSPCPL), a joint venture of Government of India and State Government of Andhra Pradesh under the National Solar Mission Phase-II, Batch-II, State Specific Bundling Program.

According to the Mercom’s India Solar Project Tracker, the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) had conducted the first e-reverse auction for the Kurnool Solar Park and SunEdison (now Greenko after acquisition) won the bid to develop 500 MW in November 2015 by quoting Rs.4.63 (~$0.071)/kWh – lowest quoted tariff at that time. In December 2015, SBG Cleantech won a bid to develop 350 MW by quoting Rs.4.63 (~$0.071)/kWh; Azure Power won a bid to develop 100 MW by quoting Rs.5.12 (~$0.079)/kWh; and Adani won a bid to develop 50 MW by quoting Rs.5.13 (~$0.079)/kWh. Azure and Adani bids were under the Domestic Content Requirement (DCR) category.

The power purchase agreements for these projects were signed in March 2016. SBG Cleantech was the first to complete its project, and before March 31, 2017, the entire 350 MW was added to the grid. Their system is fully operational and feeding power to the grid, stated an official at APSPCPL.

The official further stated that the entire Kurnool Solar Park is expected to be connected to the grid by the end of April 2017. The 500 MW being developed by Greenko will be online within two weeks (the inspection work has been completed by the government officials and the entire capacity power induction will take place within two weeks), added the APSPCPL official.

The official further commented that Azure will be commissioning 30 MW out of its awarded 100 MW in a couple of days and the remaining 70 MW by the end of April. Adani is developing 50 MW and has been asked by the APSPCPL to expedite the process so that commissioning can be done by end of April, added the APSPCPL official.

Once these projects are connected, the state of Andhra Pradesh will have nearly 1.4 GW of operational utility-scale solar projects.

Image Credit: Greenko