Five substations make up the mammoth 648 MW plant at Kamuthi in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, making it largest of its kind in the world. Indian company Adani Group entrusted ABB to connect the plant to grid, and has just been awarded another large PV plant in Chhattisgarh.
Adani Group awarded the design, supply, installation and commissioning of the five substations electrification and automation systems to ABB back in 2015, and the company has completed the job in good time. Now 360 MW has been successfully connected to the grid, giving it a large proportion of the local region’s energy mix.
“This project exemplifies our end-to-end power and automation system integration capabilities and reinforces our commitment to the renewable energy sector, a key component of ABB’s Next Level strategy,” said Claudio Facchin, President of ABB’s Power Grids division.
The huge project fits in well with India’s ambitious target of installing 100 GW of solar power by 2022, which includes a proposal to have 25 solar projects with capacities between 500 and 1,000 MW developed over the next five years. “We are proud to support the country’s clean energy vision and push for solar power which demonstrates its commitment to sustainable growth,” added Facchin.
Adani leading the charge
Independent power producer Adani Group has been one of the company’s looking to take full advantage of India’s push for solar power, and has set up a long-term target of installing 15 GW of solar capacity, of which it wants 10 GW to be installed by 2022. One of the group’s subsidiaries, Parampujya Solar Energy, was awarded a 100 MW PV project in Chhattisgarh, after winning an auction last week.
Parampujya sought the lowest viability gap funding from Solar Energery Corporation of India (SECI), by bidding for just Rs 59 lakh (USD88,000) per MW. Only two other companies bid in the auction, Azure Power for Rs 84 lakh per MW, and Spectrum Coal and Power for Rs 89 lakh.
Adani is also eyeing the purchase of SunEdison’s solar assets in India, after the company filed for bankruptcy earlier in the year. These assets are extensive, with 700 MW already installed and approximately 1.7 GW yet-to-be constructed.
