NEW DELHI: The Modi government ’s 10 gw (giga watt, or 100,000 mw) solar dream received a major push on Friday with state-run generation utility NTPC stitching an agreement for selling electricity from a 250 mw ultra-mega solar power project in Andhra Pradesh.Andhra Pradesh Eastern Power Distribution Company Ltd and Andhra Pradesh Southern Power Distribution Company Ltd signed on the dotted lines to buy power from this plant at a levelised tariff of Rs 6.16 per unit for 25 years.Power cost is expected to come down once the remaining 750 mw capacity is completed. This is because this portion of the project would be constructed through international bidding route, while competition was limited to only domestic manufacturers to promote ‘Make in India’.The plant is being set up in Anantapur district of the state’s Rayalaseema region. According to NTPC director (commercial) I J Kapoor, NTPC is aiming to ramp up its solar power capacity to 3,000 mw during the financial year.The project is the largest solar power project at a single location by a single developer in the state. Some 5,400 acres of land has been identified for the project, most of which has already been acquired.The company, the biggest thermal generator in the country, has an installed solar power capacity of 110 mw and is chasing a solar target of 10,000 mw. By 2032, NTPC plans to attain a generation capacity of 128,000 mw, 28% of which would be from non-fossil fuels.The government is poised to start the process for awarding contracts for 10,000 mw projects in the coming three months. The plan includes close to 6,000 mw to be set up by NTPC alone, 2,500 mw by Solar Energy Corporation, around 2,500 mw in Madhya Pradesh and the rest as solar energy parks in several other states.