ZNShine Solar, a Chinese PV module manufacturer, has won a tender to supply 37.5 MW of PV modules to Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), which is India’s largest manufacturer of power generation equipment.

This development is significant as it marks the first overseas module supplier to win a contract with BHEL.

“The Indian PV market has been growing rapidly in recent years, we are targeting its potential and huge demand. We are also planning to build with our local partner an integrated production line there that includes silicon wafer, cells and modules,” said Qian Li, Marketing Director of ZNShine Solar.

The main reason for ZNShine to win the bid is believed to be its superior products over local suppliers as it has recently developed graphene-coating (nano technology) solar modules. The graphene coating has a self-cleaning property that is advantageous for Indian condition prone to dust storms.

The contract mandates that 10 percent of the supplies will be graphene-coating solar panels and all deliveries will be made by October 2018.

ZNShine’s customized local services and graphene modules is expected to save cleaning and maintenance cost. The modules claimed to maximize the light transmittance (94.3 percent), which can increase the power output by 0.5 to 1 percent.

Earlier, BHEL bagged orders worth ₹1.25 billion (~$0.019 billion) for the development of two solar photovoltaic (SPV) power projects in Gujarat.

Previously, Mercom reported that BHEL also bagged a 75 MW grid-connected solar PV project to develop in Gujarat Solar Park, located in Charanka village of Patan district.

As of June 2018, ZNShine’s total shipments to India have reached to approximately 1 GW.

In May 2018, Znshine Solar won a 300 MW photovoltaic module supply agreement with India renewable energy developer ACME Cleantech Solutions Private Limited.