UPC-AC Energy Solar commissions 210 MW DC capacity in India

UPC-AC Energy Solar, a joint venture of UPC Solar and AC Energy, has commissioned two solar farms aggregating to 210 MW (150 MW AC) capacity, including 140 MW (100 MW AC) in Rajasthan and 70 MW (50 MW AC) in Gujarat. It has a further 420 MW (300 MW AC) solar assets scheduled for construction in Madhya Pradesh as it aims for about 1 GW of operating PV capacity in India by 2023.

August 12, 2021 Uma Gupta

Soltec bifacial panels

Image: Charles W Thurston

AC Energy, Philippino group Ayala’s energy arm, and UPC Solar Asia Pacific, Hong Kong-based UPC Renewables’ solar energy platform, have announced their joint venture UPC-AC Energy Solar has commissioned its two maiden solar farms in India, the 140 MW DC (100 MW AC) Sitara Solar and 70 MW DC (50 MW AC) Paryapt Solar.

The Sitara Solar farm is a US$65 million solar facility located in the Jodhpur district of Rajasthan, a desert state with the highest irradiation in India. It benefits from a long-term PPA with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) at an INR 2.48/kWh tariff.

The Paryapt Solar is located in the Amreli District of Gujarat. The US$38 million solar facility has been supplying energy to Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (GUVNL) at INR 2.55/kWh.

The aggregate 210 MW DC capacity of the solar farms comprises more than 466,000 solar panels, which could produce around 358 GWh annually and help offset an estimated 323,990 metric tonnes of CO2e.

Pranab Kumar Sarmah, CEO of UPC-AC Energy Solar and co-founder of UPC Solar Asia Pacific, said the two projects were commissioned on time and within the construction budget despite many challenges due to Covid-19 pandemic and rising material costs.

UPC-AC Energy Solar is now gearing up to start the construction of an additional 420 MW DC (300 MW AC) of solar assets in Madhya Pradesh this year. With initial successes on hand, it is aiming to have about 1 GW of operating solar assets in India by 2023.

Located in Khandwa district, the upcoming 300 MW project is named Masaya Solar and has an estimated project cost of US$220 million. The solar farm is expected to become operational by March 2022. It will supply energy for 25 years to SECI. The project will be connected through a 220KV transmission line to The Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL)’s inter-state transmission network.

UPC Renewables is a leading renewable energy developer in the Asia Pacific region with offices in Australia, China, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam. It has more than 73 wind and solar projects operational with a total installed capacity of 4,500 MW and an investment value of over US$8.4 billion.

AC Energy has 1.2 GW of attributable capacity in the Philippines. This is expected to increase with the infusion of AC Energy International, which has 1.4 GW of attributable capacity. AC Energy aspires to become the largest listed renewables platform in Southeast Asia, with a goal of reaching 5 GW of renewables capacity by 2025.

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