AREVA Solar, an AREVA subsidiary, has been awarded a contract by the Indian group Reliance Power Limited to build a 250 megawatt (MW) concentrated solar power (CSP) installation in India, which will become the largest in all of Asia. The project will help advance India’s goal of adding 20,000 MW of solar energy by 2022 and will result in the avoidance of approximately 557,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year compared to a similar sized coal- fired power plant.
Under the contract, AREVA will build two 125 MW CSP plants using its Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector (CLFR) technology and will provide construction management services for the project. The first phase of the project is under construction, with a target commercial operation date of May 2013. The solar power plants will be located in Rajasthan. J P Chalasani, CEO of Reliance Power, stated: “Reliance Power is proud to be a leader in India’s clean energy future.
Today’s announcement is just the beginning. We look forward to working with AREVA Solar in helping meet India’s clean energy goals through this project.” AREVA CEO Luc Oursel stated: “AREVA is delighted to help deliver on the promise of India’s progressive solar energy goals and to advance Reliance’s bold vision for a global clean energy portfolio. We will leverage our best-in-class experience to help make India and Reliance global solar industry leaders.
Following our success in the French wind offshore sector, this contract reinforces the AREVA strategy in renewable energies.” The Reliance contract solidifies AREVA Solar’s position as a leading global supplier of CSP solutions for large-scale standalone power plants, power augmentation of fossil-fired power plants and solar hybrid applications, and follows on a series of successes. This project also further strengthens and diversifies AREVA’s low-carbon energy hub in India.
