The Avaada Group, an India-based renewables developer, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government of the Indian state of Gujarat to develop 6GW of hybrid solar-wind capacity.
The company expects to invest nearly INR400 billion (US$4.8 billion) for the development of the hybrid portfolio across several districts of Gujarat, predominantly in Kutch.
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Power capacity generated by these projects will be supplied to several Indian utilities, among them Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam (GUVNL), and for Avaada’s green hydrogen and ammonia projects. The renewables developer raised funding for its green hydrogen and solar business last year with an investment north of US$1.3 billion, of which US$1 billion came from asset owner Brookfield Renewables.
Aside from the MoU signed with the government of Gujarat, the Indian developer currently has 2GW of capacity that is either operational or at various stages of development in the state, said Vineet Mittal, chairperson at the Avaada Group.
The western state of Gujarat is one of the major solar hotspots in the country, behind only Rajasthan in terms of installed capacity, and in 2023 it installed 1.3GW of PV capacity. However, solar additions in the country were down by 28% in 2023 due to a 42.5% drop in the commissioning of new utility-scale project capacity.
Interest in hybrid solar-wind projects in India has been growing, more often than not for round-the-clock projects, with commercial and industrial renewables developer Serentica Renewables securing financing for a 530MW hybrid project in the states of Rajasthan and Maharashtra, which are set to replace coal-based power supply.
Hybrid solar-wind projects were among one of the key emerging investment opportunities in the country last year, along with corporate power purchase agreements.