Team News Riveting
Kolkata, April 23
State-run Coal India Limited (CIL) on Thursday signed a first of its kind power purchase agreement with Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL) for the sale of power from the 100 MW solar power that would entail a capital investment of Rs 442 crore.
The tenure of the agreement period is for 25 years.
In its maiden venture into solar power, the world’s largest coal producing company in March 2021 had won a 100 MW solar power project in reverse auction conducted by GUVNL. “We feel upbeat that we could win in our first ever competitive bidding of solar auction. We will aggressively participate in more such auctions in future,” said a senior executive of CIL.
CIL is serious on its intent to pursue solar power generation as an alternative green energy source. It lists high on its diversification portfolio. The company has rolled out a plan for 3,000 MW of solar power generation by 2024. Around Rs 13,500 crores is planned to be invested in solar power projects through company’s internal resources, Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV) and bank loans. CIL is developing necessary in-house expertise and has created a team of competent officers for its solar initiatives.
“Solar will replace coal as a key energy provider in future and we are laying the groundwork to remain relevant in the country’s energy sector. We plan to venture into solar power generation in a big way”, said the executive.
For the 100 MW bid that it won, CIL was awarded the work with a stipulation that it enters a PPA for establishment of solar power project and supply the power generated to GUVNL within 18 months from the date of inking the PPA.
To come up at a capital investment of at Rs 442 crore, CIL will execute the 100 MW project through a Solar EPC Contractor (engineering, procurement and construction).
In a back-to-back arrangement, CIL has already issued a tender in advance for finalizing a solar EPC contractor which is in advanced stage. The project will be executed within one year from the date of placement of the work order.
To accelerate its entry into development of cleaner renewable energy sources, CIL on 16 April’21 added two more fully owned subsidiaries to its fold. These will function as SPVs to carry the company’s stated objectives.
The two SPVs that were incorporated are ‘CIL Navikarniya Urja Limited’ and ‘CIL Solar PV Limited’. Both the registered entities will be situated in West Bengal.
