On the final day of the Gujarat delegation in Washington DC, led by Shri DJ Pandian, principal secretary Energy and Petrochemicals , Azure power announced an investment of $40 million in the state of Gujarat for developing a state of the art Solar PV power plant.
The investment is led by Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), an agency of the United States Government that helps U.S. businesses invest overseas and promotes economic development in new and emerging markets.
Other investors in the project include IFC, a member of World Bank group, Helion Advisors, a venture capital firm based in Bangalore, India and Foundation Capital, a venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, California.
Azure Power has signed a 25 year power purchase agreement with the state of Gujarat. The project is expected to be commissioned by mid 2011. Once fully operational the plant will employ most advanced solar photovoltaic technology while eliminating as much carbon dioxide pollution as 2.5 million trees would annually.
Azure Power has already operationalised India's first private MW scale solar power plant in Punjab, India in December 2009.
Speaking on behalf of the State of Gujarat, Mr. D J Pandian, Gujarat Principal Secretary for Energy and Petrochemicals said, "We are encouraging development of solar power in the state of Gujarat and we expect to make Gujarat the hub of solar power development in India. We have set up a target of 1,000 Mw established solar power generation capacity by the end of 2012 and 3,000 Mw in next five years. We are very pleased to see the progress and commitment made by Azure power in this sector and are happy to welcome them to the state of Gujarat."
Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Jim Polan, Vice President-SME Finance, OPIC, said "We are extremely pleased to be partnering again with Azure Power. The project in Gujarat represents the best of OPIC: identifying a developmental need in an emerging market and utilizing American capital and entrepreneurial skill to address it, in a way that benefits everyone involved. And it furthers the shared goal of both OPIC and India, to develop renewable energy sources."
Azure Power has successfully set up the first power plant in Awan, Punjab and proven that rapidly building renewable solar energy capacity at the edges of India's over-stretched grid is viable. This has the potential to help strengthen the power supply to developing, rural residential and commercial power consumers and help in stimulating growth.
Mr. Inderpreet Wadhwa, CEO, Azure Power said, "We are excited to work with the Gujarat State Government for our upcoming project and expect to develop several additional projects in this progressive state. We are glad that our investors recognize the potential of MW scale solar power generation in India and Azure's market leading role in Solar IPP space in the South Asian region. It is our mission to play a leading role in the electrification of India through clean energy and we are confident that solar power can do the job."
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