Rewa Ultra Mega Solar

Rewa Ultra Mega Solar is the first solar project in the country to break the grid parity barrier. It is one of the largest solar power plant in India.[3] It is an operational ground mounted, grid-connected photovoltaic solar park spread over an area of 1,590 acres (6.4 km2) in the Gurh tehsil of Rewa district of Madhya Pradesh.[2] The project was commissioned with 750 MW capacity in December 2019.[4]

Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Power Project
CountryIndia
LocationRewa district, Madhya Pradesh
Coordinates24.4802°N 81.5744°E / 24.4802; 81.5744
StatusCommissioned
Commission date5 July 2018
Construction cost₹4,500 crore
Owner(s)Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikas Nigam Limited
Solar Energy Corporation of India
Operator(s)Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Limited (RUMSL)
Solar farm
TypeFlat-panel PV
Site resource5.0-5.5 kWh/m2 per day[1]
Site area1,590 acres (6.4 km2) [2]
Power generation
Units operational3 x 250 MW
Nameplate capacity750 MW

Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Limited (RUMSL), the implementing agency of the project, is a joint venture between the Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikash Nigam Limited (MPUVNL) and the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). RUMSL was set up in July 2015 with Manu Srivastava, Principal Secretary, New & Renewable Energy, Government of Madhya Pradesh as its Chairperson, and he continued as its Chairperson till the completion of the project.

For all solar parks in India, development of land and associated infrastructure are undertaken by state-led Solar Power Park Developer, while conceptualization, market consultations, financial and legal structuring and bid process management are activities undertaken by federal companies, viz., NTPC and SECI. RUMSL, though created only in July 2015, led at the State level and having Rewa as its first project, has the distinction of being the only entity in the country to have undertaken both these roles.

While earlier projects by federal companies were awarded with target tariff of Rs.4.50/unit and the bidding was on Viability Gap Funding (VGF) to reach the target tariff, Rewa project went ahead without any VGF support and achieved a first year tariff of Rs. 2.97/unit. This has been the first project in India with rates of solar power below those of coal-based power, which is presently around Rs 4.50/unit and is expected to increase over the years.

Rewa is the first project in India to be supplying power to an inter-state open access customer, viz., Delhi Metro. This is also the first project in India where solar power would be used for railway traction.

The project got World Bank Group’s President’s Award for excellence for its transaction structure.

The bidding for Rewa went on for 33 hours on February 9 and 10, 2017. Power Purchase Agreements and all other agreements of the project were signed on April 17, 2017 in Bhopal in the presence of Shivraj Singh Chouhan Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Venkaiah Naidu then Minister of Urban Development and Piyush Goyal then Union Minister of Power, Coal, Mines and New & Renewable Energy. The project was part commissioned on July 5, 2018. Supply to Delhi Metro commenced on April 18, 2019. The project was completed on January 3, 2020. The project was formally inaugurated on July 10, 2020 by the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi.

The Project secured a place in the book on innovations, ‘New Beginnings’ released by the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, which is a publication of Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances, GoI.

Rewa Solar plant is India’s first solar project to get funding from Clean Technology Fund (CTF), which is available at a rate of 0.25% for a 40-year period, and from the World Bank. This has enabled Rewa Project to have very low solar park charges, which was one of the contributing features behind the low tariff achieved in Rewa Project.

Minister of State for Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal informed the Lok Sabha in July 2014 that the government intended to construct a 750 MW solar park in Rewa.

PGCIL was awarded the contract for developing the 220/400 KV substation for the evacuation of power from the project site to different consumers. M/S Alstom was selected by PGCIL to develop the construction of substation work. Internal infrastructure for the project was developed by the RUMSL. RUMSL developed the project site which allowed developers to set up the unit without worrying about the evacuation infrastructure.

Auctions

RUMSL selected developers based on 3 stage assessment viz; Technical Proposal, Financial Proposal, Reverse Auction. RUMSL conducted the bid and reverse auction process using the Electronic Tender portal hosted by the Telecommunication Consultants India Ltd (TCIL).

The 750 MW capacity was auctioned in three packages of 250 MW each. RUMSL invited bids from solar power developers in January 2017. Twenty firms submitted bids, from which eighteen were shortlisted based on their financial and technical proposal to participate in the bidding process.[5] The reverse auction process for the project involved 33 hours of non-stop bidding by the shortlisted bidders beginning at 10 AM on 9 February 2017. Mahindra Susten, ACME Solar Holdings, and Solengeri Power won the first, second and third units quoting tariffs of Rs 2.979, Rs 2.970 and Rs 2.974 for the first year of operations. In Jan 2017, these were the lowest tariffs ever awarded through a bidding process for a solar project in India, however is now higher than the INR 2.44/unit quoted in the new auctions for the Bhadla Solar Park. International Finance Corporation was the transaction advisor of the project. The total cost of the project is estimated around ₹4,500 crore.[6]

Special Project Features:

  • Perfect example of ‘plug & play’, and how it can bring down solar prices in India.
  • Initiative by state rather than federal companies. Largest solar power tender led by a State and not led by CPSUs.
  • Demonstrated that solar energy can become viable on commercial principles and does not need subsidy (Viability Gap Funding).
  • First project in India supplying power to an inter-state open access customer.
  • World bank loan, as also from Clean Technology Fund (CTF), for the development of 33/220 KV Pooling substations to evacuate power from the Rewa Solar power project.
  • PGCIL developed the 220/400 kV Inter-state transmission system for Rewa Solar Power Plant to different power purchasers.
  • First project to get funding from Clean Technology Fund (CTF) in India.
  • Innovative design of Contracts to address the varying demand pattern of the off-takers.
  • Three tier payment security Mechanism for the procurer – First time in India.
  • Innovative Payment Security Fund (PSF) was developed along with Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), based on commercial principles rather than budgetary allocation.
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References
  1. "India Solar Resource - Global Horizontal Irradiance - Annual Average, by NREL, National Renewable Energy Laboratory".
  2. "Electricity | District Rewa, Government of Madhya Pradesh | India". Retrieved 2020-07-10.
  3. "Explained: How does the Rewa Solar Power Plant match up to similar plants in India and abroad?". Indian Express. 12 July 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  4. "750 MW Rewa solar project starts supplying power". pv magazine India.
  5. "20 firms submit bid for Rewa solar power plant - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2017-03-20.
  6. "Big Story | India now has Asia's largest solar power plant". Moneycontrol. Retrieved 2020-07-11.

Further reading

https://www.eqmagpro.com/bidding-results-rewa-750-mw-solar-pv-power-project/

http://www.india.com/news/agencies/solar-tariff-drops-to-record-low-of-rs-2-97unit-1829223/

http://www.livemint.com/Industry/FnIG8NQF4o2YeE8NbQtzgP/Madhya-Pradesh-woosglobal-investors-with-mega-solar-project.html

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/madhya-pradesh-to-produce-cheapest-solar-power-in-india-at-rs-2-97-per-unit/articleshow/57086986.cms

https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/industry_ext_content/ifc_external_corporate_site/infrastructure/resources/scaling+infra+-+rewa+solar+-+india

https://www.livemint.com/industry/energy/how-rewa-solar-park-helped-india-s-green-economy-turn-a-corner-11594352166677.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGu7XJa3XgA

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