Guntur Civic Body Signs MoU With NIUA For Rs 74.25-Crore Solar Project
The storage facility is expected to ensure power supply during non-solar hours and help the corporation meet its electricity requirements.
Vijayawada:The Guntur Municipal Corporation (GMC) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), New Delhi, to set up a 13.5 MW captive solar power plant at an estimated cost of `74.25 crore.
The MoU was signed online on Thursday by NIUA director Dr Debolina Kundu and GMC commissioner K. Mayur Ashok. The agreement was signed under the Climate Projects Preparation Facility (CPPF), an NIUA initiative functioning under the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs.
The project comprises a 13.5 MW solar power plant costing Rs 60.75 crore and a 3 MW battery energy storage system (BESS) worth Rs 13.50 crore. The storage facility is expected to ensure power supply during non-solar hours and help the corporation meet its electricity requirements.
Commissioner Mayur Ashok said the project would be implemented under the public-private partnership (PPP) mode on a Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Maintain (DBFOM) basis. A developer would be selected through open competitive bidding, with the lowest tariff determining the selection.
The concession period would be 27 years, including two years for construction, while ownership of the project would remain with the GMC. The plant is expected to supply electricity at an estimated tariff of Rs 3 to Rs 3.15 per unit, reducing the corporation's dependence on conventional power sources and helping cut carbon emissions.
Under the MoU, CPPF will provide technical and financial advisory support, including feasibility studies, financial structuring, preparation of tender documents and the Request for Proposal (RFP), management of the bidding process and selection of the PPP partner. It will also assist the corporation in securing Viability Gap Funding (VGF) and climate finance. CPPF will bear the project preparation expenses.
The commissioner said the corporation had submitted its Project Concept Note and secured Municipal Council approval for the initiative.
He described the project as a milestone in Guntur's environmental protection efforts and thanked NIUA and the CPPF team for their support. He said the corporation would work to implement the project within the stipulated timeframe.