Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, India, 13 March 2018: While on an official visit to India, French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi inaugurated a solar power plant, at Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, in the presence of Isabelle Kocher, CEO, ENGIE, the company announced in a Press communiqué.

Kocher said: “It is an honour to welcome President Macron and Prime Minister Modi to Mirzapur, one of our key assets in the country. This plant and the different successes we announce today support our ambition to be a major partner for the development of renewables in India, a fast-growing country for global energy transition businesses. Globally, ENGIE is committed to invest massively in low-carbon generation, one of the growth engines of the group.”

According to ENGIE, the company was awarded the Mirzapur solar project (101 MWp) in May 2016 for a price of INR 4.43/kWh (USD 68/MWh) and signed a 25-year power purchase agreement with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) in June 2016.

The company also announced that ENGIE and National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) have recently signed a 25-year power purchase agreement for the Kadapa solar park (338 MWp) in Andhra Pradesh. ENGIE was also recently awarded a 30 MW wind project in Gujarat, the company said. ENGIE confirmed the company has signed a power purchase agreement with GUVNL (the Gujarat state distribution company) and will build and operate 13 wind turbines. Construction will start at the end of March 2018, with commissioning expected by June 2019 and the price of INR 2.44/kWh (USD 38/MWh) remains fixed in nominal terms for the entire 25-year duration of the power purchase agreement, the company further said. ENGIE announced it was also recently awarded a 50 MW wind project in Tamil Nadu, at a tariff of INR 2.45/kWh (USD 37.7/MWh). The plant is to be commissioned before the end of 2019.

According to ENGIE, the Bhadla solar park, in Rajasthan, began commercial operation, following successful commissioning in June 2017. ENGIE won this project in 2016 with an offer of INR 4.35/kWh (USD 67/MWh).

The communiqué further said that these projects are part of the Indian Government’s effort to promote the development of renewable electricity and increase the share of renewables in the energy mix.