Areva to develop 1,000 MW solar facilities in India - report

(ADPnews) - Nov 2, 2010 - French energy firm Areva (EPA:CEI) is planning to develop up to 1,000 MW of solar thermal power plants in India in the next five to seven years, Indian daily Business Standard reported, citing a company official.

The company intends to invest a total of INR 133 billion (USD 3bn/EUR 2.1bn) in the solar projects and is currently negotiating with two financial institutions to set up solar thermal joint ventures, the newspaper wrote on its website yesterday.

Areva will develop the projects under power purchase agreements (PPA) with state governments.

"The moment we get credible PPAs, we will form the joint venture; we will not wait for the full 1,000 MW capacity to be signed," Areva Renewables CEO Anil Srivastava told the daily.

According to Business Standard, the French company is considering installing four solar power plants of 250 MW each in four Indian states and is already in talks with the governments of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Areva also plans to establish a wholly-owned engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) unit to make solar islands and turbines and to contract an Indian partner for the balance of plant and civil work. The unit would facilitate the company to set up a supply chain and to export parts to Australia and western Asia, the daily said.

(INR 10 = USD 0.225/EUR 0.161)

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