JOIN USWorld's largest solar park at Pavagad begins power generation
After a three month delay, the solar park in Pavagad in Tumakuru district said to be the world's largest, has finally begun generating power. The power generated is, however, negligible (70 to 76 MW per day).
Under Phase 1, the solar park should have commissioned 1,000 MW by September 2017. But, so far, only three solar blocks have been commissioned with a total installed capacity of 150 MW.
The total installed capacity of the project is 2,000 MW, and the deadline for the second phase (1,000 MW) of the project is September 2018.
According to the Karnataka Solar Power Development Corporation Ltd (KSPDCL) officials, the first solar block was commissioned on December 2, 2017 (50 MW installed capacity) by Fortum Finnsurya Energy Pvt Ltd, which enhanced its capacity by another 50 MW on December 5. On December 6, another solar power developer (SDP) -- Parampujya Solar Energy Pvt Ltd commissioned its first 50 MW. On Friday, Parampujya added another 50 MW while ReNew Wind Energy Pvt Ltd commissioned its first 50 MW.
KSPDCL is hopeful that the installed capacity will go up to 400 MW by December end, and to 600 MW by end of January 2018. Though the installed capacity is 150 MW, the state grid is only getting around 70 to 76 MW of power everyday. This is because the generation is dependent upon the climatic conditions. Officials said that maximum energy is being generated only in the afternoons.
The Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd (KPTCL), which was hoping for the commissioning of the solar park at the earliest, is however, left disappointed. As there is no improvement in the coal situation, it was hoping the solar park would bring reprieve. However, owing to the delay, KPTCL continues to tap into the hydel stations to avoid load shedding. Officials said that the unseasonal rains in Pavagad and unforeseen internal problems with the SDPs, caused the delay in power generation.
As per the "plug and play" model of KSPDCL, an agreement was made with the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) to award contracts to six SDPs -- Tata Power Renewable Energy, Fortum Finnsurya Energy Pvt Ltd, Parampujya Solar Energy Pvt Ltd, ReNew Wind Energy Pvt Ltd, Yarrow Infrastructure Ltd, and Acme Solar Holdings Ltd to generate 600 MW. These SDPs will sell power to NTPC, which in turn will bundle the same with an additional 300 MW of thermal power and sell it to Karnataka escoms at rates ranging between Rs 2.75 to Rs 3 per unit.
As per the agreement, the Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Corporation (KREDL) and the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) too should have started generating 200 MW each by September. However, both the corporations are still in the process of identifying SDPs to commission the plants. As the first tendering process saw no takers, the corporations have now re-invited tenders.
Under Phase 2 of the project, NTPC has to start generating 1,000 MW by September 2018. Even if the entire 2,000 MW is commissioned, the capacity utilisation factor is only 19%. This means that only about 400 MW is evacuated to the grids.