Bhadla Solar Park

Bhadla Solar Park is the largest solar park in the world as of 2020, and is spread over a total area of 5,700 hectares (14,000 acres) in Bhadla, Phalodi tehsil, Jodhpur district, Rajasthan, India.[1]

Bhadla Solar Park
CountryIndia
LocationBhadla, Jodhpur district, Rajasthan
Coordinates27.5396685°N 71.9152528°E / 27.5396685; 71.9152528
StatusOperational
Commission date20 March 2020
Solar farm
TypeFlat-panel PV
Site resource5.5–6.0 kW⋅h/m2/d[2]
Site area5,700 ha (14,000 acres)
Power generation
Nameplate capacity2245 MW[1][3][4]

The park has a total capacity of 2245 MW.[1] The park had witnessed the lowest bid for solar power in India as of December 2020 at ₹2.44 (3.4¢ US) per kilowatt-hour.[5][6] In September 2018, Acme Solar announced that it had commissioned India's cheapest solar power: 200 MW at Bhadla.[7]

Location

Officially recognized as a sandy, dry, and arid region with an area of about 45 km2 (17 sq mi), Bhadla is located about 200 km (120 mi) north of Jodhpur and about 320 km (200 mi) west of the state capital Jaipur. The region has been described as "almost unlivable" due its climate. Average temperatures in Bhadla hover between 46 and 48 °C (115 and 118 °F), with hot winds and sand storms occurring frequently. The nearest habitation to Bhadla is the village of Bap located about 50 km (31 mi) away, and the closest urban area – a tehsil town called Phalodi – is situated 80 km (50 mi) away.[8]

Development of Bhadla Solar Park documented on satellite Sentinel-2 imagery

Auctions

Phase I

In the first phase, NTPC Limited auctioned 420 MW of capacity split into 6 packages of 70 MW each. The Finnish company Fortum quoted the lowest tariff of ₹4.34/kW⋅h. Rising Sun Energy and Solairedirect won 2 packages, each quoting a price of ₹4.35/kW⋅h. Yarrow Infrastructure won the remaining package quoting a price of ₹4.36/kW⋅h.[9][10]

In December 2016, Solairedirect signed an agreement with Ecoppia, a PV panel cleaning solutions developer, to provide automated cleaning solutions to the project. Due to the park's location in a desert region, it is prone to dust storms.[11] Solairedirect secured a loan of ₹6.75 billion (equivalent to ₹7.6 billion or US$110 million in 2019) from IDBI Bank in February 2017 to help finance the project.[12]

Phase II

The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) auctioned 250 MW capacity in the second phase for which 27 firms submitted bids.[13]

Phase III

SECI auctioned 1000 MW capacity in the third phase on 11 May 2017.[6]

SECI also actioned 800 MW for tariff of ₹2.44 (3.4¢ US) per kilowatt-hour. The SoftBank Group has been awarded 500 MW and ACME 200 MW. ACME commissioned the 200 MW capacity in September 2018.[4] HFE commissioned the 100 MW capacity in November 2019. The entire 200 MW capacity is expected to be commissioned by January 2020.[6]

Phase IV

SECI auctioned 250 MW capacity in the fourth phase on 9 May 2017.[6]

South Africa's Phelan Energy Group and Avaada Power were awarded 50 MW and 100 MW of capacity, respectively. Their bids of ₹2.62 per kilowatt-hour were the lowest tariffs for any solar power project in India. It was also lower than NTPC's average coal power tariff of ₹3.20 per kilowatt-hour. SBG Cleantech, a consortium of Softbank Group, Airtel and Foxconn, was awarded the remaining 100 MW capacity at a rate of ₹2.63/kW⋅h.[14]

SECI tendered bids for the remaining 750 MW capacity in June 2017.[15] In this way, the entire solar park will be completed by December 2018, and with 2055 MW installed capacity, it will be the one of the world's largest solar parks.

Commissioning

On 22 February 2017, NTPC announced that it had commissioned 115 MW of capacity at the park.[16] An additional 45 MW of capacity was commissioned on 8 March,[17][18] and 25 MW on 18 March.[19] NTPC announced the commissioning of 20 MW capacity at the park on 23 March,[20][21] and 55 MW on 25 March 2017,[22][23] taking the total commissioned capacity of the Bhadla park to 260 MW.[24] As of September 2018, 1365 MW have been commissioned.

The remaining 880 MW, to be installed by Hero (300 MW), Azure (200 MW), SoftBank Group (200 MW) and ReNew Power (50 MW), are scheduled to be commissioned by March 2019.

Out of the 880 MW of capacity under construction, Azure commissioned 150 MW of capacity in April 2019.[25]

After its full capacity became operational, the park became the largest fully commissioned PV project in the world, with its investment rising to ₹100 billion (US$1.4 billion).

Land issues

Projects aggregating 750 MW under development in the Park are facing delays due to land procurement issues. According to media reports, the entire 750 MW capacity was auctioned in December 2017 and the projects are scheduled to be completed by February 2019.[26]

See also

References
  1. "With 2,245 MW of Commissioned Solar Projects, World's Largest Solar Park is Now at Bhadl". Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  2. "India Solar Resource - Global Horizontal Irradiance - Annual Average, by NREL, National Renewable Energy Laboratory". Archived from the original on 29 March 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  3. "Solar power park of 620 MW capacity get operational at Bhadla park". Energyworld, The Economic Times. 2 October 2018. Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  4. "ACME commissions 2000 MW solar power plant at Bhadla". 22 September 2018. Archived from the original on 22 September 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  5. Aggarwal, Mayank (12 May 2017). "Solar power tariff falls further to Rs2.44 per unit". livemint.com/. Archived from the original on 4 June 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  6. "Result of e-RA for Bhadla Phase-III and Phase-IV Solar Park" (PDF). seci.gov.in. 12 May 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 June 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  7. "Acme Solar Commissions India's Cheapest Solar Power Plant". Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  8. "Catching the sun at Bhadla solar park". The Indian Express. 18 June 2017. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  9. "India solar power tariffs hit new low of Rs 4 per unit - Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 18 April 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  10. Ramesh, M (19 January 2016). "Solar power tariff touches a new low of ₹4.34/unit". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  11. "Ecoppia to provide cleaning solution for India's Bhadla Solar Park". PV-Tech. Archived from the original on 20 March 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  12. www.ETEnergyworld.com. "IDFC bank lends Rs 675 Crore for Rajasthan solar project - ET EnergyWorld". ETEnergyworld.com. Archived from the original on 20 March 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  13. "Solar power tariffs fall to new low of Rs2.62 per unit". Mint. 10 May 2017. Archived from the original on 12 May 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  14. Kumar, V Rishi (10 May 2017). "Solar power tariff bid hits new low of Rs 2.62 per unit in Bhadla park in Rajasthan". The Hindu Business Line. Archived from the original on 17 May 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  15. "SECI tenders another 750MW at record-luring Bhadla Solar Park". PV Tech. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  16. "NTPC commissions 115 MW capacity at Bhadla solar project". www.moneycontrol.com. Archived from the original on 20 March 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  17. "NTPC commissions 45 MW capacity at Rajasthan solar project". www.moneycontrol.com. Archived from the original on 20 March 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  18. "NTPC commissions 45 MW of Bhadla solar plant - ET EnergyWorld". ETEnergyworld.com. Archived from the original on 20 March 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  19. "NTPC modestly higher after company commissions new power projects". Sify. Archived from the original on 25 March 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  20. "NTPC commissions 20 MW capacity at Bhadla solar project - The Economic Times". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 23 March 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  21. "Corporate Disclosure: Commissioning of 20 MW of Bhadla Solar Power Project" (PDF). Bombay Stock Exchange. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 March 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  22. Editorial, Reuters. "BRIEF-NTPC's 260 MW capacity of Bhadla solar PV project declared on commercial operation". Reuters India. Archived from the original on 11 July 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  23. "NTPC commissions 260 MW Bhadla solar project in Rajasthan | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis". dna. 31 March 2017. Archived from the original on 6 April 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  24. PTI (27 March 2017). "NTPC commissions 55-MW solar project at Bhadla". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  25. "Azure Power commissions 150 Mw solar project in Rajasthan". Archived from the original on 2 May 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  26. "Solar Projects Facing Land Challenges in Rajasthan's Bhadla Park". Mercom. 17 October 2018. Archived from the original on 28 January 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
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