The Power Sale Agreement (PSA) for the sale of power generated from the 250 MW solar project which will be developed in Andhra Pradesh’s Kadapa Solar Park, has been signed between the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and the Southern Power Distribution Corporation of AP Ltd. (APSPDCL).

An NTPC official aware of the development said, “The PSA has been signed. It was signed around 15 days ago between NTPC and APSPDCL. The Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) between NTPC and the developer will be signed on January 10, 2018.”

Another NTPC official associated with the development of Kadapa Solar Park said, “Finally the work will begin as the PSA has been signed. The signing of PPA is just a formality.”

When asked about the rate at which the PSA has been signed, the NTPC official said, “The PSA has been signed at ₹3.15 (~$0.049)/kWh, which was the lowest tariff quoted in the auction. We (NTPC) were able to make the APSPDCL understand the reason and benefits of this project and they have agreed to the quoted price.”

An APSPDCL official told Mercom, “The PSA has been signed at the tariff discovered in the reverse bidding. Now it is up to NTPC to sign the PPA with the developer. The NTPC will be bundling the power generated from this project along with the other sources, which will then be supplied to us.”

Previously, the APSPDCL had cited a surplus power situation in the state as the reason for not finalizing the PSA with NTPC. This is a welcome change in the stance of the state-owned Distribution Company (DISCOM).

According to Mercom India Research, back in April 2017, Solairedirect won the 250 MW project at a reverse auction by quoting a tariff of ₹3.15 (~$0.049)/kWh under the National Solar Mission (NSM) Phase-II, Batch 2. An official at Solairedirect also spoke to Mercom, confirming the signing of the PSA and the date of PPA signing which has been fixed on January 10.

With this development, Solairedirect will also be relieved, which had been waiting for months for things to move forward.

In November 2017, Mercom had reported that the PPA for the Kadapa Solar Park will be signed soon.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Project Tracker, Solairedirect has an installed solar capacity of 369 MW.

Image credit: Solairedirect Technologies