The onslaught of monsoon and severe weather has caused significant damage to a 250 MW solar PV project in Madhya Pradesh.

Heavy rainfall and lightning accompanied by storm with wind speed nearing 10.44 m/sec and 20.26m/sec was recorded on the night of July 5, 2019.

Speaking to Mercom, an engineer working at Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Limited (RUMS) said that heavy rains had triggered a mudslide, due to which the damage was caused to unit III of the solar park.

The production of the park was affected, he admitted and reiterated that restoration work is going on in full swing and the unit would be restored to commence its operational capacity shortly.

While speaking to Mercom, other developers said on condition of anonymity that the exact extent of damage to unit-III have not been ascertained. They also clarified that their respective units remained unaffected by the heavy rains and mudslide.

According to a damage assessment report reviewed by Mercom, there were extensive damages to the inverter that tripped on the ground, modules, along with damages to cable tray, and module mounting structure (MMS).

 

According to the report, the most affected blocks were submerged due to a sudden rise in the water level, leading to a damage of the MMS tables, and the modules that were mounted near the slope of drainage points. Water also reached inside the switch control board. A huge amount of debris was deposited on the modules near the drainage area.

The report mentioned that after the incident, the power generation had reduced to 92.5 MW from the normal output of 250 MW.

According to an official from Sprng Energy,” The damage was minimal and to the extent of only 0.2 MW, and the restoration to full capacity will be done shortly.”

The Rewa solar park, developed and owned by RUMSL comprises three segments, a capacity of 550 MW developed in Agar Solar Park located in Agar district, 500 MW in Neemuch Solar Park located in Neemuch district, and another 450 MW in Shajapur Solar Park located in Shajapur district of Madhya Pradesh.

A couple of months ago, Sprng Energy, the renewable energy platform of Actis Private Equity Funds, had announced the commissioning of its first renewable project in India, the 250 MW unit-III at the RUMS.

Mercom had also reported on Mahindra Susten’s announcement that of its total 250 MW Rewa solar project, it has commissioned 140 MW.

 

This article has been updated with a quote from a project developer