Indian developer SolarArise—funded by UK based global investor ThomasLloyd—has launched construction of a 75 MWp solar power plant in Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state in India with some 230 million inhabitants.
The investment for this project amounts to 34.9 million euros. Debt financing for the project has been secured from Power Finance Corporation Limited, a Government of India undertaking and India’s largest power sector lender—according to a press statement by ThomasLloyd.
ThomasLloyd estimates the project, once commissioned, will provide renewable and cheaper electricity to nearly 110,000 people. Thus, it contributes to India’s commitment to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions per unit GDP by 33% to 35% over 2005 levels by 2030 by increasing the share of clean energies in its energy mix.
At the peak of construction, the project is expected to create 490 local jobs. During the plant’s operating period, approximately 70 full-time equivalent jobs will be created directly, according to ThomasLloyd.
SolarArise has awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to Noida based Jakson. The developer has also signed a contract with JA Solar for the supply of mono PERC modules—according to a previous statement by ThomasLloyd.
A major investor in renewable energy infrastructure in Asia, ThomasLloyd helped SolarArise increase its installed renewable energy production capacity from 130 MW to 309 MW and targets 1.5 GW, thanks to 30 new large-scale power plants, for a total investment estimated at 950 million euros.
SolarArise was founded in 2014 by James Abraham, Anil Nayar and Tanya Singhal. Other shareholders besides ThomasLloyd are the Global Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund (GEEREF), advised by the European Investment Bank Group, the Core Infrastructure India Fund (CIIF), managed by Kotak Mahindra Bank, and the founding team.