Zurich-based ThomasLloyd has announced that its investee SolarArise India Projects Pvt Ltd, a Delhi-based solar project developer, has commissioned a 27 MW solar photovoltaic power project in Kerehalli village, Koppal district of Karnataka.

According to the company statement, the new solar power project will operate under Talettutayi Solar Projects Two Private Limited, a special purpose vehicle set up by SolarArise. It has a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM).

The project has been constructed using 82,431 solar modules. It covers an area of 119.7 acres (48.4 hectares) and will supply about 41,988 people with solar power, and the reduction of carbon tons per annum.

The project is expected to generate approximately 47 million kWh/year of solar energy in Karnataka.

Nandita Sahgal Tully, managing director merchant banking at Thomas Lloyd’s, said: “Commissioning of the site is a major milestone towards providing clean electricity to around 42,000 people in the Karnataka region. We are proud to have been part of this project supporting India’s goals for a clean-energy future.”

ThomasLloyd is a global investment and advisory firm dedicated to the infrastructure sector in Asia.

Anil Nayar, the director of SolarArise India said: “Our experienced teams worked closely with our contractors allowing us to commission this project three months prior to the deadline.  As long-term project owners, our teams continue to learn and improve through each project to deliver on-time and quality projects.”

The company has also installed a 40.5 MW solar power station at Chikkoppa village in Koppal district in Karnataka. The project was commissioned in January 2018 and covers 178 acres of land. The project supplies energy to about 72,000 people. The solar park is operated by Talettutayi Solar Projects One Private Limited and was constructed using 125,080 solar modules.

In 2018, Mercom had reported that ThomasLloyd had acquired a major stake in SolarArise.  It was also mentioned that ThomasLloyd has the scope to expand capacity to 1 GW of grid-connected solar projects for the Indian solar market.

According to Mercom India Research forecasts, India is likely to install over 8 GW of solar capacity in the calendar year 2019. The report estimates solar installations in India to reach 70 GW by the end of 2022 based on current market dynamics.

Earlier it was reported that India added 3.2 GW of solar capacity in the first half of 2019 with large-scale projects making up 83% and rooftop installations accounting for 17%.

Image credit: Hbkfromckd108 [CC BY-SA 4.0]

Anjana is a news editor at Mercom India. Before joining Mercom, she held roles of senior editor, district correspondent, and sub-editor for The Times of India, Biospectrum and The Sunday Guardian. Before that, she worked at the Deccan Herald and the Asianlite as chief sub-editor and news editor. She has also contributed to The Quint, Hindustan Times, The New Indian Express, Reader’s Digest (UK edition), IndiaSe (Singapore-based magazine) and Asiaville. Anjana holds a Master’s degree in Geography from North Bengal University, and a diploma in mass communication and journalism from Guru Ghasidas University, Bhopal.