Rewa Solar Project

• 17 Jul 2020

• Recently, the government inaugurated the 750 MW solar project in the Gurh tehsil of Rewa district , Madhya Pradesh.
• It is Asia's largest solar power project.
• The project has also received the World Bank Group President’s Award for innovation and excellence and was included in the book ‘A Book of Innovation: New Beginnings’.

About Rewa Solar Project

• It comprises three solar generating units of 250 MW each located on a 500 hectare of land situated inside a solar park (total area 1500 hectare).
• It was developed by the Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Limited (RUMSL), a Joint Venture Company of Madhya Pradesh UrjaVikas Nigam Limited (MPUVN), and Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), a Central Public Sector Undertaking.
• This is the country’s first solar project to receive funding from World Bank under its Clean Technology Fund (CTF).

Significance

• Grid Parity Barrier: It is the first solar project in the country to break the grid parity barrier.
• Payment Risk Reduction: Its payment security mechanism for reducing risks to power developers has been recommended as a model to other states by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
• Supplying Power to Institutional Customer: It is the first renewable energy project to supply an institutional customer outside the state, i.e. Delhi Metro, which will get 24% of energy from the project with the remaining 76% being supplied to the state DISCOMs of Madhya Pradesh.
• Carbon Emission Reduction: In terms of environmental impact, the project would avoid 15 lakh tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year.
• Achieving 100 GW Solar Capacity: The project also exemplifies India’s commitment to attain the target of 175 GW of installed renewable energy capacity by the year 2022, including 100 GW of Solar installed capacity.