First Solar, the US-based largest manufacturer of Thin Film Solar PV Modules and integration solutions company, has announced its plans to set up Solar PV power plant clusters near to Industrial hot spots in the country.
First Solar Power India's country head Sujoy Ghosh, said to Hindu “These solar PV clusters will be located close to industrial estates and seek to bridge the power supply gap for local companies. “Since such solar PV projects are modular in nature, we will have the flexibility to set up the required capacity and have the capability to ramp up,” . “In the US, we have helped set up two 550 MW solar PV farms. It only shows that it is possible to set up much bigger farms than what we have seen in India so far,” he said.
Ghosh said that most industrial units in the country, particularly in the southern States, are short of power.
This provides an opportunity to develop solar farms.
“The model will seek to tie up with local potential industrial buyers and sign up for power purchase pacts. This will also help us and similar developers to achieve financial closure for the project as they will become bankable,” he explained.
“Over 25 per cent of the installed capacity of 1,400 MW of solar PV units have been handled by First Solar as a supplier and an implementation partner. “We will now play a much bigger role both as developer and turnkey solutions provider,” he said.
