SunEdison sets up solar park

The U.S.-headquartered SunEdison is setting up a solar park near Tirunelveli. The 18-MW solar park is coming up on an 80-acre site. The park is designed to help investors easily own a solar plant. With the 2012 Accelerated Depreciation Benefit for Solar tax law and competitively-priced solar power through the open access programme, which allows developers to sell renewable energy credits, businesses that buy part of the Tirunelveli Solar Park can typically expect payback of their equity investment as a tax credit within the first year. Power generated by their units will be fed into the local grid to offset their electricity bills. The park locks in electricity pricing for 25 years, protecting owners from the rising cost of fossil fuel-generated electricity. SunEdison has already commissioned a 1.5-MW plant at the park, and the plant includes SunEdison AP90 single-axis trackers that promise higher performance at lower construction and maintenance costs when compared with fixed tilt structure. “In tune with the growing trend, we are trying different models in the solar space instead of depending fully on feed-in tariff model,” said Pashupathy Gopalan, President & Managing Director – Asia Operations, SunEdison Energy India Pvt. Ltd. The total cost for a tracker model project will be Rs.8.7-8.8 crore per MW when compared with Rs.7.8 crore per MW for fixed model. The yield in tracker project, it is claimed, will be greater by 18-20 per cent when compared with fixed structure model. http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-business/sunedison-sets-up-solar-park/article5727559.ece