648-MW solar power plant in Ramanathapuram planned

The Adani Group on Saturday signed an agreement with the Tamil Nadu government for setting up a 648 MW solar power plant in Ramanathapuram district.

The solar plant at Kamudhi in Ramanathapuram will be set up at a cost of Rs. 4,536 crore and the State will purchase the power generated at Rs. 7.01 per unit, according to a release from the government.

The agreement was signed in the presence of Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.

“The plant at Ramanathapuram, which will have five power generation centres, is the largest single solar power generation plant in the world,” Rajesh Adani, Managing Director of the Adani Group, told government officials during a presentation, the release said.

“I hope the project is successful and I hope your partnership with Tamil Nadu will continue,” Ms Jayalalithaa said.

Tamil Nadu had set a target of generating 3,000 MW of solar power by 2015. The State will sign power purchase agreements for 1,000 MW by the end of this month, Electricity Minister Natham R. Viswanathan said on Thursday. Tamil Nadu expects to get about 2,000 MW of solar power by the end of this year.

“Another 107 private solar power generators have filed applications with the Tangedco to generate 2,722.50 MW of solar power in the State. Of this, the load flow study has been completed for 1,132 MW,” the statement said.

Land acquisition

The process of land acquisition was nearing completion and the group would begin work on the plant in July, Adani Group sources had told The Hindu earlier. The company is expected to fund the project through internal accruals and debt.

Last month, the Adani Group had signed a joint venture agreement with the Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corp to set up a 10,000 MW solar park.

The plant will be set up at a cost of Rs. 4,536 crore and the State will purchase power at Rs. 7.01 per unit