The plant located in Awan (Amritsar) was constructed by Azure Power in a record time of six months. According to Azure Power, the solar PV field will provide electricity to approximately 42 villages around Awan under a 30-year power purchase agreement with Punjab State Electricity Board and will avoid as much carbon dioxide pollution as 535,000 trees do annually.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Dr. Farooq Abdulla, Honourable Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy of the Government of India, identified solar power as the key driver in nation’s effort to electrify all the villages in the country.
While the Government of India recently published a National Solar Mission establishing a target of 20,000 MW by 2022, with a short-term target of 1,300 MW in the next three years, the Government of Punjab is considered to be a pioneer in promoting solar power through private participation and this new plant was facilitated and supported by the Punjab Energy Development Agency, in collaboration with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
“Azure is glad to partner with the visionary Punjab State Government for our very first project. India needs 500 MW of power generation per week for the next 25 years to maintain GDP growth of 8% per annum,” said Mr. Inderpreet Wadhwa, CEO of Azure Power, during the opening.
Azure Power is India’s first independent power producer in the solar energy market and has already started work in the states of Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat, to set up additional solar power plants to the tune of 22 MW. It has also announced plans for a total power generation portfolio of 100 MW across the country by 2013.
For additional information:
