Mahindra Susten, the solar engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) arm of Mahindra Group, has commissioned a 175 MW solar project in Kolayat in the Bikaner district of Rajasthan.

Mahindra Susten had won 250 MW, quoting a tariff of ₹2.54/kWh in Solar Energy Corporation of India’s (SECI) auction for 1,200 MW of interstate transmission system (ISTS)-connected solar projects to be developed across India. SECI had tendered the capacity under tranche-IV in February 2019. The tariff ceiling for this tender was set at ₹2.65 (~$0.038)/kWh. The tender was oversubscribed by 900 MW.

Mahindra Susten said that the remaining 75 MW would be commissioned shortly. The project has also received the commercial operation date certificate from the Power Development Board (PDB).

The project has been fitted with 535 kWp and 540 kWp bifacial modules manufactured by LONGi and Jinko. The project has a 220 KV substation and a 19.5-kilometer transmission line.

The company said that the project would utilize 100% waterless cleaning robots for module cleaning. The 175 MW project was charged in a single day via the SCADA system.

It said that the project achieved 1 million safe man-hours up to the first phase of the commissioning.

Mahindra Susten is a leading independent power producer with a total portfolio of 1,137 MW solar projects with another 75 MW under execution.

It was the fourth-largest utility-scale developer in terms of projects commissioned in 2021, according to India Solar Market Leaderboard 2022. The company also emerged as one of the top utility-scale solar engineering, procurement, and construction service providing companies in 2021.

In April 2021, Mahindra Susten incorporated Mahindra Solarize to undertake the business for distributed energy, including rooftop solar installation for the commercial, industrial, institutional and residential segments, solar water pumps, and other renewable energy industry-based products.

In June 2019, Japanese trading and investment company Mitsui announced that it had agreed with Mahindra Susten to develop and operate distributed solar projects in India. Mitsui had acquired a 49% stake in Marvel Solren, a Mahindra company.