The move is in line with the government of India’s goal to have 100GW of installed solar capacity by 2022, in a bid to reduce dependency on coal to generate electricity and combat climate change.
This follows a global alliance between France and India to mobilize more than $1 trillion worth of investment by 2030 towards solar power development, the Nikkei Asian Review reported.
Commenting on the development at the Confederation of Indian Industry’s annual partnership summit, Power Minister Piyush Goyal was quoted by media sources as saying: "The progress of Andhra Pradesh is evident from the fact that this newly formed state could overcome a huge power crisis and become a power surplus state today."
Meanwhile, NTPC also plans to set up a 4GW thermal plant at Puttaparthi in the state.
The government will call for potential bidders in the next few months for at least three ultra mega power projects, part of the 4GW class. It is also likely lo launch a coal linkage policy for the power sector within three months, according to Indo-Asian News Service.
In November last year, NTPC selected SunEdison for the development of 500MW of solar power capacity in Andhra Pradesh.
SunEdison was selected over other bidders including SoftBank Group, Trina Solar, Enel Green Power, Reliance Power, ReNew Power Ventures, Solar Arise, Acme Solar and Orange Renewable Power, among others.
NTPC received 30 bids, totaling 5,500MW of solar capacity.
Image: The government of India is aimed at having 100GW of installed solar capacity by 2022. Photo: courtesy of njaj / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
