Finnish firm Fortum has connected a 100MW solar plant to the grid at the Pavagada solar park in the Tumkur District of Karnataka, India.
Fortum’s solar production capacity in India now stands at 185MW made up of four projects.
In April 2016, Fortum won a bid in a reverse auction for 100MW out of the total of 500MW capacity auctioned. This included a fixed tariff of INR4.79/kWh for
25 years. This project the first part of the 2GW Pavagada solar park that has reached its full capacity and is connected to the grid.
“We are excited to be able to connect our fourth solar plant to grid. We look forward to continue to develop our business and look opportunities to leverage
our knowledge and experience obtained in our projects,” said Kari Kautinen, SVP M&A and Solar and Wind development.
Fortum is targeting a gigawatt-scale solar and wind portfolio as part of securing its longer-term competitiveness. Based on its strategy, Fortum seeks
to allocate its planned growth capital in the range of EUR200–400 million in solar projects in India.
In November, Fortum signed an agreement to acquire 35MW of solar production in Russia from Hevel Group.
Back in April this year, Fortum also commissioned a 70MW solar PV plant in the Indian state of Rajasthan, which it won last year at what was then a record low tariff of INR4.34/kWh (US$0.067).