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Solar power projects under the latest tranche of the National Solar Mission are beginning to take shape as project developers are finalizing loans and placing orders for equipment.
15 MW solar PV project by ACME Solar in Gujarat
ACME Solar has secured a loan of Rs 202 crore ($34 million US) from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) for the development of 100 MW of solar power capacity in India. The company had secured the right to develop five projects of 20 MW capacity each through the auction held under the National Solar Mission.
Five subsidiaries of ACME Solar had successfully bid for the projects that were offered by the Indian government last year. All the projects will come up in Jodhpur district of western Indian state of Rajasthan and are expected to be commissioned by April 2015.
The $34 million loan is part of a $50 million loan deal signed between ACME Solar and the IFC few years back. IFC had earlier provided loans to the company for development of a 25 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant that the company had secured under the solar power policy of the Madhya Pradesh government.
ACME Solar has been among the first project developers to implement solar power projects in India. The company had set up India’s first and only power tower solar thermal power project when the National Solar Mission was still in its infancy. The 2.5 MW project sits in the desert of Rajasthan.
In March 2012, the company commissioned 15 MW solar PV project under the Gujarat solar power policy. The project had secured debt funding from the State Bank of India and the US Ex-Im Bank. With a 25 MW solar PV project under development, the company has a portfolio of 167.5 MW capacity.
The company had recently announced that it will source about 100,000 solar PV modules from one of India’s leading module manufacturers, Tata Power Solar, for one of the five 20 MW projects. The company must use domestically manufactured solar PV modules for one of the five projects, while it is free to choose between domestic and imported modules for the other four projects.
Image credit: ACME Solar
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