SB Energy has commissioned a 350MW photovoltaic solar power plant located in Andhra Pradesh, India.
Located in Kurnool district at the state-owned Ghani Sakunala Solar Park, the solar power plant will generate enough electricity to cover the power consumption needs of around 700,000 homes in the region.
It has been designed and developed by SB Energy (formerly known as SBG Cleantech) which is a three-way $20bn renewable joint venture between Japan’s Soft Bank Group, India’s Bharti Enterprises and Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology Group.
The project which marked Soft Bank's foray in the Indian solar market is being touted as the seventh largest solar plant in the world. It is also the first solar power plant to commence operations under the Solar Parks scheme of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission.
The plant became operational in March end, about 51 days ahead of the scheduled date agreed upon in power purchase agreement (PPA) with the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPCL).
SB Energy CEO Added Raman Nanda said: “We are deeply grateful to the AP government for their sustained cooperation, which helped us commission well ahead of time. This is our first step toward powering India’s growth with clean energy, and we hope to contribute much more in the future.”
SB Energy executive chairman Manoj Kohli added that the solar power project will contribute considerably to Indian Prime Minister’s vision of meeting the country’s energy requirements from clean renewable power while underlining the commitment of SoftBank to provide clean renewable energy in India.
The new 350MW solar power plant will supply the generated power to NTPCL at an agreed upon tariff of INR 4.63/kWh ($0.07) and is connected to the grid at 400K/V.