India's Uttar Pradesh Signs Contracts for Solar Power Plant

Moser Baer India Ltd. (MBI), a solar manufacturer based in New Delhi, won a contract to sell power from a proposed plant in Uttar Pradesh state, allowing it to proceed with the project. 

State officials signed contracts with developers for 110 megawatts of solar power in total, Namrata Kalra, project officer at the Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency, said today. Azure Power India Pvt., a company backed by the World Bank, was also among the winners. 

Uttar Pradesh in northern India is among states expanding solar generation to meet government-set targets. The country, which suffers peak-hour power shortages of as much as 25 percent in some regions, is developing large-scale renewable plants to diversify its energy mix and reduce a current-account deficit exacerbated by fuel imports. 

State-run Uttar Pradesh Power Corp. agreed to buy power from six planned solar plants at tariffs ranging from 8,440 rupees ($136) a megawatt-hour with Jakson Power Solutions to 9,330 rupees with DK Infracon Pvt., Kalra said by telephone. Essel Infraprojects Ltd. and Refex Energy Ltd. also won deals.

Those tariffs will be fixed for the first 12 years of the contracts, then reset for the remaining 13 years at the prevailing rate for conventional power, she said. Uttar Pradesh plans to auction as much as 390 megawatts of additional solar capacity after the state government approves funding, she said. 

Source http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-30/india-s-uttar-pradesh-signs-contracts-for-solar-plants.html