Azure Power has announced longterm
financing of $70.35 million
by Export Import Bank of the
United States for its solar power plant at
Nagaur, Rajasthan. The plant is an
expansion of Azure Power's existing 5-
mw Nagaur PV facility, commissioned
in December 2011, to 40-mw.
This makes it the largest solar power
plant to be developed at a single location
under the National Solar Mission, a
statement by Azure Power said.
Construction of the plant has
commenced and it is expected to be
operational by February 2013. The 40-
mw solar plant set up over 346 acres of
wasteland will have a positive impact
on the social and economic
development of the local community,
the statement added.
Talking about the project financing,
Inderpreet Wadhwa, CEO, Azure Power
said "Our partnership with US Exim
bank is unmatched in the Indian solar
industry. This is a great example of
Indo-US cooperation in clean energy.
And with this project we are committed
to working towards meeting the grid
parity objective of the National Solar
Mission in India."
Azure's first project in Punjab sells
power at Rs.17.91 per unit (kwh),
followed by its Gujarat project that sells
at Rs.15 per unit. Last December, Azure
Power commissioned its Rajasthan
plant under JNNSM (Phase-I Batch-I)
that sells power at Rs.11.94 per unit.
The additional capacity at this project
will sell power at Rs.8.21 per unit.