Belectric set to be the EPC partner for Fortum’s 250 MW Project at Pavagada Solar Park

Germany’s Belectric, a subsidiary of Innogy, has been awarded the contract by Fortum to perform engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) duties and provide operations and maintenance (O&M) to its 250MW solar park project in Karnataka. Construction is expected to start early next year.

Fortum Solar India won the project capacity through reverse auctioning held by Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Ltd (KREDL), the 250MW project at Pavagada solar was awarded to the Indian arm of the Finnish renewable firm in June. At the time, Fortum announced that it needs ₹1,000 crore (€120 million) Capex after winning the bid at a fixed tariff of 2.85 INR/kWh for the next 25 years.

“India is not only one of the largest PV markets but also one of the most challenging. That’s why we are particularly proud to have been awarded a contract for a 250 MW-AC solar plant by Fortum Solar India Private Limited,” explains Ingo Alphéus, CEO of Belectric Solar & Battery GmbH. “It is also by far the most sizeable project we have won so far from a third-party customer. Together with the 349 MWp (250 MW-AC) project Limondale, which we are starting to build for our parent company Innogy SE in Australia, this underpins our strong position in large-scale EPC and O&M for ground-mounted PV.”

At present, with 185MW of solar installations in operation in India, Fortum Solar India awarded the EPC and O&M contracts to Belectric, which in turns said that it has already helped in developing some 360MWp of PV capacity in India.

Jitendra Singh, CEO & Managing Director of Belectric Photovoltaic India Pvt. Ltd, adds: “We are delighted to be awarded the contract for this new project in Karnataka which is going to be the largest capacity installation we have done in India. This project includes five sites in a solar park totaling to 250 MW-AC and we plan to start construction next month. This new contract in addition to our two large rooftop projects under construction in India proves again that we are highly competitive in today’s market and that our costumers recognise our high health and safety as well as quality standards.”

Recently, we reported that the KREDL, had awarded 500 MW (250 MW each) of solar projects to the Fortum Corporation and Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd (TPREL). The projects awarded were a part of the re-tendered 650 MW projects to be built at the massive Pavagada Solar Park in Tumkur.