Astonfield Renewable Resources and Belectric on Tuesday announced a strategic alliance for execution of Astonfield's five MW solar power plant in Osiyan, Rajasthan.
The Osiyan project is one of several Astonfield plants expected to be approved under the migration phase of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission. It will be Astonfield's first solar power plant to be commissioned during 2010-11. Belectric has already completed site designs and engineering on the plant.
Belectric, one of the largest photovoltaic (PV) system integrators in the world, will also provide operations and maintenance (O&M) services for the plant. The Osiyan power plant will be the first utility-scale solar power plant commissioned by Belectric under India's National Solar Mission.
The company has acquired a total of 185 acres of land under a long term lease for an additional 20 MW expansion plan. The Osiyan plant is expected to bring over a hundred jobs to the local community and has the capacity to power approximately 13,000 homes.
``Consistent with our strategy to partner with global technology leaders, Astonfield has formalised a tie-up with Belectric to build one of the first utility-scale projects under India's National Solar Mission. We look forward to working with Belectric in commissioning this first 5MW PV plant in Rajasthan,'' Ameet Shah, co-chairman of Astonfield said.
“India has become one of the most promising solar markets in the world today. The partnership between Belectric and Astonfield will play a key role in the fulfilment of India's solar potential under the National Solar Mission,'' commented Bernhard Beck, CEO of Belectric.