US PV giant SunEdison has confirmed an agreement with the state government of Karnataka in India to build 5GW of subsidy-free wind and solar.
The company claims the projects will produce subsidy-free electricity at prices competitive with coal power.
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The five-year deal includes an immediate plan to build 1-1.5GW by the end of December 2016.
SunEdison will provide hardware, project development and finance know-how to the plants. Electricity will be sold under Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with local distribution and utility firms. The Karnataka government will work with SunEdison to find public land for the projects and to enable grid connection.
“Karnataka's comprehensive energy policy paves the way for socially and environmentally responsible economic growth and prosperity by addressing the energy needs of utility customers, distributed generation customers, and farmers who can benefit from solar water pumps for irrigation,” said Pashupathy Gopalan, president of SunEdison, Asia-Pacific.
“The energy leadership in the state is determined to make a significant positive impact for the people and businesses of Karnataka, and we are excited about the opportunity to work with them to make this positive change,” added Gopalan.
The deal was signed by chief minister Siddaramaiah of Karnataka, and Ahmad Chatila, president and CEO of SunEdison.
On Monday SunEdison announced it was evaluating the possibility of building a fully-integrated manufacturing facility in the country. The company entered the wind market in November with the US$2.4 billion acquisition of First Wind.