Wind Energy

First Solar to supply 100 MW for Reliance Power Solar Energy Project

First Solar, a US-based provider of photovoltaic (PV) system solutions, today announced that it has signed an agreement to supply a 100 megawatt (MW) solar module to Reliance Power, the largest such supply agreement in India to date.

First Solar, the world’s biggest solar company by market value, will deliver 40 MW of advanced thin film modules to Reliance Power by the end of 2011 for its solar power project in Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, which will supply renewable electricity to Mumbai.

The delivery of the remaining 60MW is expected be completed in 2012. This agreement is the largest PV module supply agreement in India to date.

The US Export-Import Bank approved an $84.3-million direct loan on 25 August to Reliance Power’s Dahanu Solar Power unit to purchase First Solar panels for the first 40 MW of the project.

India will become the biggest recipient of loans next year from the Washington, DC-based US Export-Import Bank for clean-energy projects, including $575 million loans for solar energy projects that could generate an estimated 315 megawatts. (See: US Ex-Im Bank to lend India $575 mln for solar projects)

It recently approved loans to Azure Power for importing thin-film photovoltaic modules from First Solar Inc, a deal worth $16 million for a 5 MW solar power project also in Rajasthan.

India, which aims to build 20,000 megawatts of solar capacity by 2022, but projects worth more than $3 billion have found it difficult to get loans from Indian financial institutions.

”We are delighted to collaborate with Reliance Power, one of India’s leading independent power producers,” said Jim Brown, president of First Solar’s Utility Systems Business Group.

”With strong growth projections, India is expected to become one of the world’s major solar markets, due to its abundant solar resource and significant energy demand. This agreement with Reliance Power continues First Solar’s momentum in India, helping develop the country’s long-term, sustainable solar market,” he added.

Arizona-based First Solar is the world’s leading manufacturers of photovoltaic solar modules and systems, and has been ranked number one by Forbes Magazine as the fastest growing technology company.

It manufactures solar modules with an advanced semiconductor technology and provides comprehensive PV system solutions. The company manufactures cadmium telluride (CdTe)-based photovoltaic (PV) modules, which produce electricity with a thin CdTe film on glass.

www.firstsolar.com/