SJVN, a joint venture between the Government of India and the Government of Himachal Pradesh, has signed an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract to commission two solar projects in Uttar Pradesh.

SJVN signed the EPC contract with Solarworld Energy Solutions to deploy a 75 MW solar project in Gurah village in Jalaun district and a 50 MW project in Gujrai village in Kanpur district.

The estimated cost of the two EPC contracts is ₹6.91 billion (~$86.51 million), which includes end-to-end delivery of the solar project and operation and maintenance (O&M) for two years. The contract value for 75 MW Solar Project is ₹4.1075 billion (~$51.42 million), while for 50 MW Solar Project is ₹2.8 billion (~$35.06 million).

SJVN’s Chairman and Managing Director Nand Lal Sharma said, “We secured these projects through tariff-based competitive bidding process conducted by Uttar Pradesh New & Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA).”

SJVN quoted a tariff of ₹2.98 (~$0.037)/kWh for both projects. The power generated from the two projects will be procured by the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation for 25 years.

The solar project to be commissioned in Gurah will generate 159 MU energy annually with a capacity utilization factor (CUF) of 24.22%. The Gujrai project will generate 106 MU energy annually with a CUF of 24.20%.

SJVN aims to achieve an installed capacity of 5 GW by 2023, 25 GW by 2030, and 50 GW  by 2040.

Last month, SJVN emerged as one of the three winners in Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited’s auction to develop 500 MW of solar projects under Phase XIV with a greenshoe option of an additional capacity of up to 500 MW (Tranche XIV). The other winners were Aditya Birla (ABREL Special Purpose Vehicle 2) and Hinduja Renewables Energy.

Earlier this year, SJVN signed a power purchase agreement with the Bihar State Power Holding Company for 200 MW of grid-connected solar power project in Bihar. The project’s estimated cost was ₹10 billion (~$125.20 million). It is expected to generate 421 million units in the first year of operation.