150 MW solar power plant to be set up at Dhule soon…

• A 150 MW solar power plant will be set up in Dhule with financial assistance of Euro 250 million from KFW, a German investment bank. The project is claimed to be one of the biggest in the country. Speaking to TOI on conditions of anonymity, a senior director from Maharashtra State Power Generation Company Ltd said, "This would be one of the first solar power generation plants for which finance is coming from abroad. The total cost of the project is Rs 1,800 crore, of which some Rs 1,700 crore (Euro 250 million) is being financ ed by KFW and the state government will pump in the rest of the amount." The project is expected to start generation by the end of 2012. This would be the first solar project that will be connected to the national grid, he added.

• Photo voltaic cells will be used in the solar panels for storing power. The cells are durable and have higher efficiency than the silicon wafers. The state government has signed the supply contract in May this year with manufacturers of solar power panels. Lanco Solar and Juwi Renewable India Ltd will jointly supply crystalline technology-based photovoltaic solar panels for building a 75 MW power plant. The supply for the remaining 75 MW plant would come from other two partners, one of which is a Spanish company.

• The efficiency of the power panels is 20% of the total heat absorption, said the official. The proposal for the project came from the Union government, where the requirements for setting up a power plant were high radiation, bright light and dry climatic conditions. Dhule is one of the few districts in the state that has suitable climatic conditions. Data received from National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( Nasa) about radiation from solar rays revealed that Dhule will have maximum days with bright sunlight and heat for better power generation as it falls in the same line of radiation level as Rajasthan and Gujarat, said the official.