India’s first grid connected rooftop solar project in Odisha

Odisha to have country’s first grid connected rooftop solar project with a minimum installed capacity of 4 MW. It will be set up across more than 100 Government buildings in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.

The Green Energy Development Corporation of Odisha Limited (GEDCOL) and the Central Electricity Supply Utility (CESU) on Saturday signed a 25-year project implementation agreement with Azure Power Mercury Private Limited to develop the rooftop solar project.

As many as 114 Government buildings in Bhubaneswar and 85 buildings in Cuttack are found suitable for generation of rooftop solar energy.

The project will mobilise around Rs 35 crore of private investment and to be implemented by availing Central financial assistance from Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), GEDCOL Managing Director Hemant Sharma said.

“This project marks an important milestone in the development of rooftop solar programme in the State which has taken a lead in developing the country’s first grid connected net metering project on a PPP mode,” said Minister of State for Energy Pranab Prakash Das.

International Finance Corporation (IFC), an affiliate of World Bank, has been assisting GEDCOL over the last three years to conceptualise and structure this project and mobilise credible private investors.

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