Spanish company Gestamp to put up 100 MW solar plant in TN

Spanish engineering and renewables major Gestamp intends to put up a 100 MW solar photovoltaic project in Tamil Nadu, but in phases.

Southern Solar Pvt Ltd, a joint venture of Gestamp and Chennai-based Zynergy group, will put up the first 25 MW by March. Gestamp has 70 per cent stake in the joint venture. (Typically, a solar project calls for an investment of Rs 9 crore per MW.)

The joint venture has acquired 500 acres in Madurai and Ramnad districts, Rohit Rabindernath, Group MD and CEO, Zynergy, told Business Line on Thursday.

Rabindernath said that Southern Solar would prefer to sell the power it generates to industrial consumers directly.

It has signed MoUs with potential buyers for selling power from 10 MW of capacity and is in the process of negotiating the power purchase agreements with them. He said he is confident of being able to firm up PPAs for 25 MW soon, and hence the initial phase of the project would be for that capacity.

He said that evacuation of power would not be a problem because “luckily for us” there is no transmission constraints in the areas Southern Solar would put up its projects.

On the tariffs that the Southern Solar would sell electricity at, Rabindernath said that industrial consumers were fine with paying Rs 9 and above per unit. Anything less would not make economic sense for the project developers. Any benefits that Southern Solar would get from trading in the renewable energy certificates could be shared with the buyer of the electricity.

Southern Solar would not be interested in ‘reverse bidding’ projects, where the tariffs are determined in a bid process, and are often as low as around Rs 8.

ramesh.m@thehindu.co.in

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