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UPRVUNL, Coal India to set up 500 MW solar plant in Jalaun
The utility-scale plant is likely to be commissioned in the next 18-24 months. UPPCL to buy electricity from it.
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n a major step towards expanding renewable energy capacity, the Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd (UPRVUNL) and Coal India Ltd (CIL) have partnered to set up a 500 MW solar power plant in Jalaun district through a joint venture.
The state government, according to additional chief secretary Narendra Bhushan, has already allotted land for the proposed plant. “We have allotted 22 acres of government land in Jalaun for the 500 MW solar plant to be established jointly by Utpadan Nigam and Coal India Ltd,” he said.
The plant, expected to be commissioned in the next 18-24 months, will entail an investment of ₹2,500 crore. UP Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL) will buy the electricity to be produced by the plant at the tariff to be determined by the regulator.
Utpadan Nigam managing director Ruesh Kumar said a power purchase agreement (PPA) with UPPCL would be signed soon.
“In the joint venture, UPRVUNL will hold a 49% equity stake, while Coal India Ltd will own 51%,” he said, adding that the Nigam has also planned another 300 MW solar project in collaboration with Green Energy Ltd, a subsidiary of NTPC. “This project, also proposed in Bundelkhand, was delayed due to land allotment issues, which have now been resolved,” he added.
The latest initiative is part of the Uttar Pradesh Solar Energy Policy–2022, which targets the development of 2,200 MW of solar power capacity, including 14,000 MW through utility-scale solar plants/parks in the state by 2027.
According to official data, utility-scale solar projects with a cumulative capacity of 2,743 MW have already been established across Uttar Pradesh, and several large-scale projects are in the pipeline.
“Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA), through three joint ventures, is developing solar parks with a combined capacity of 3,455 MW, including 430 MW under commissioning,” UPNEDA project director Narendra Singh said.
SJVN Green Energy Ltd., a joint venture with UPNEDA, is developing solar projects of 600 MW each in Jhansi and Lalitpur, and another 800 MW in Chitrakoot. Similarly, Bundelkhand Saur Urja Ltd.—a joint venture of UPNEDA and NTPC Ltd.—is setting up projects of 1,200 MW in Jalaun, 100 MW in Mirzapur, and 45 MW in Madhogarh (Jalaun).
Lucknow Solar Power Development Corporation Ltd., a collaboration between UPNEDA and the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), is developing the UP Solar Park with projects of 365 MW in Jalaun, 75 MW in Mirzapur, 50 MW in Prayagraj, and 50 MW in Kanpur Dehat, besides smaller plants of 35 MW in Kanpur Nagar and 75 MW in Kanpur Dehat.
The 500 MW solar plant to be set up jointly by Utpadan Nigam and Coal India Ltd in Jalaun will also be a utility-scale project—a large renewable energy installation designed to generate electricity for direct supply to the state power grid, rather than for individual or local consumption.
