BANGALORE, 17 Oct 2011:

Tata BP Solar India Ltd, a joint venture of Tata Power and BP Solar, added yet another megawatt scale solar power plant to the list of those installed and commissioned under the Rooftop and Other Small Solar Power Generation Plant scheme administered by IREDA under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM). This prestigious project is owned and developed by M/s MGM Minerals Ltd at Patrapada Village, Tangi Block, Khurda District in Orissa.  The one megawatt plant was synchronised to the grid recently. 

Mr K Subramanya, CEO, Tata BP Solar, commented on the versatility of Solar Photovoltaic technology - that it can be techno-economically viable at all terrains and can make a significant impact on the day to day life of the local community as demonstrated here in Village Patrapada. 

This project uses 4400 number of crystalline silicon modules of 230 Watts each spread out over an area of 5 acres. These modules will generate electric current when solar radiation falls on them. This DC (direct current) electricity will be converted to AC (alternating current) through inverters and upgraded to 11 KV via transformers so that it is fed into the electricity grid lines of Orissa State Electricity Board at 11 KV. The solar power plant will generate 1.42 million units of electricity first year. Tata BP Solar has also taken the contract to provide the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) services to the plant for the first 10 years after commissioning. The plant is designed to run for 25 years and the crystalline silicon modules manufactured and supplied by Tata BP are guaranteed to perform for this period of 25 years with minimal degradation in the power output over the long life time. MGM  Minerals has signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the Orissa State Electricity Board for 25 years to supply this power to them.

Tata BP Solar has already executed MW projects in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Orissa, Delhi and is also executing further projects, which are in advanced stages, in the states of Chattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand.

The JNNSM is a flagship project of the Indian government to mainstream the use of solar energy.