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Azure Power (NYSE: AZRE) announced that its portfolio has surpassed 3 GWs, reinforcing the company’s position as a leading independent solar power producer in India. This milestone was achieved with the company’s recent win of a 300 megawatt (MW) solar power project in the largest solar auction conducted by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), a Government of India enterprise and a company with an AA+ domestic debt rating by ICRA, a Moody’s company. With this win, 87% of Azure Power’s 2.2 GW contracted pipeline is with counterparties that have A to AAA domestic debt ratings. Over 1 GW of the pipeline is with sovereign counterparties.
The 300 MWs are an Interstate Transmission System (ISTS) grid connected solar PV project. Azure Power will sign a 25-year power purchase agreement with SECI to supply power at a tariff of INR 2.64 (~US 3.9 cents) per kWh which was 8% above the lowest bid in the auction. The project can be developed outside a solar park anywhere in India and is expected to be commissioned by 2020.
Commenting on the occasion, Mr Inderpreet Wadhwa, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Azure Power said, “We started with the vision of providing affordable solar power for generations and the mission to be the lowest cost power producer in the world. Through our collective efforts and support from our stakeholders, we have achieved this important milestone of crossing a 3 GW portfolio with large scale, mini/micro grid and rooftop projects across the country. This achievement is a testament to our strong project development, engineering, and execution capabilities. We are delighted to make this contribution towards the realization of our Hon’ble Prime Minister’s commitment towards clean and green energy, through solar power generation.”
Azure Power was founded by Inderpreet Wadhwa in 2008 with a vision of providing affordable solar power in an efficient, sustainable and socially responsible manner. Azure Power has rapidly grown to become one of the largest solar power developers in the India. The company started its journey over ten years ago by developing India’s first private utility scale solar plant, a 2 MW plant in Awan Punjab. Over the last decade, the company has witnessed tremendous growth and has installed over 1 GW of solar capacity with a footprint across 23 states in India. The company is backed by several marquee investors such as Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), International Finance Corporation (IFC), Helion Venture Partners, Société de Promotion et de Participation pour la Coopération Économique (PROPARCO), Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (DEG) and Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO).
About Azure Power
Azure Power (NYSE: AZRE) is a leading independent solar power producer with a pan-Indian portfolio over 3 gigawatts. With its in-house engineering, procurement and construction expertise and advanced in-house operations and maintenance capability, Azure Power provides low-cost and reliable solar power solutions to customers throughout India. It has developed, constructed and operated solar projects of varying sizes, from utility scale, rooftop to mini & micro grids, since its inception in 2008. Highlights include the construction of India’s first private utility scale solar PV power plant in 2009 and the implementation of the first MW scale rooftop project under the smart city initiative in 2013.
For more information, visit: www.azurepower.com.