MEIL Solar Energy, a subsidiary of Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Limited (MEIL), has signed power purchase agreements with Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) for the supply of solar power from 76 solar projects with a cumulative installed capacity of 618.1 MW. These projects will be developed under Component C of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) programme, utilising the renewable energy service company (RESCO) model.
As part of the project, MEIL Solar Energy will build the 11 kV transmission lines necessary to connect each solar project to the substations and will manage the operations and maintenance of these projects for a period of 25 years. The tender for this initiative was issued in January 2023, and the projects are expected to reach their scheduled commercial operation date within nine months following the signing of the agreement. MEIL Solar Energy will also be responsible for securing all required power evacuation approvals.
According to the agreement, the projects need to maintain a minimum generation of at least 15 per cent of the declared capacity utilisation factor (CUF) during the first ten years of operation, increasing to 20 per cent in subsequent years. Additionally, all the projects are required to use the solar modules listed in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM).
The maximum central financial assistance (CFA) for these projects is capped at Rs 10.5 million per MW, irrespective of any excess in actual project costs beyond the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s estimates. Under Component C of the PM KUSUM programme, the government aims to facilitate the solarisation of up to 1 million grid-connected agricultural pumps with capacities up to 7.5 HP.
In January 2023, Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Corporation Limited (KREDL) floated bids to install and commission grid-connected distributed solar power systems for the solarisation of agricultural feeders, covering 75,000 individual pump sets under Component C of the PM-KUSUM programme.
