Central PSU SJVN Ltd has tied up the entire debt component of Rs.4,444.71 crore for its upcoming 1,000-mw solar power project in Rajasthan with Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA).
In a release, SJVN said that with this debt component tie-up, the upcoming 1,000-mw solar power project at Bikaner in Rajasthan has achieved financial closure.
The project is being financed on a 80:20 debt-equity ratio. The Central government will be providing viability gap funding (VGF) to the tune of Rs.447.20 crore.
The solar project won in an IREDA auction, at a tariff of Rs.2.57 per kwh, is being implemented by SJVN Green Energy Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SJVN Ltd. Estimated to cost Rs.5,723.59 crore, the project is targeted to commission by January 2024. In the first year of operation, the solar plant will generate around 2,455 million kwh of electricity whereas the total generation during the entire lifespan of the project is estimated at 56,838 million kwh.
EPC contract
The EPC contract for this project has been awarded to Tata Power Solar Systems Ltd. Formalized in May this year, the end-to-end commissioning contract also includes O&M for a three-year period, post commissioning.
Signatories
The loan agreement signing ceremony was attended by Nand Lal Sharma, CMD, SJVN; Pradip Kumar Das CMD, IREDA; A.K. Singh, Director (Finance), SJVN; Chintan Shah, Director (Technical), IREDA and other senior officers of SJVN and IREDA. (see photograph).
Green portfolio
SJVN, has a total power generation portfolio of around 45 GW, arising from projects commissioned and under various stages of implementation. The Central PSU is currently developing 72 projects – across solar, wind and thermal power – in 15 Indian states, as well as abroad. SJVN has set a target of attaining power generation capacity of 5 GW by 2023, 25 GW by 2030 and 50 GW by 2040.
