Meeco to install 7 MWp sun2fix Open Access renewable energy generation plant in India.

The cost of power is one of the key concerns for industries and commercial enterprises across the globe as well as in India. Maharashtra in India is one of the most industrialised states in India, and the industries are exploring ways to utilise renewable energy to reduce and hedge their energy cost. The Open Access model provides a way by which renewable solar power can be wheeled across the state to accomm odate situations where the energy intensive customers do not have sufficient space at their own premises.

As one of the pioneers in the Indian solar energy market, The meeco Group, herein represented by its Indian subsidiary meeco India Pvt. Ltd., has augmented its rooftop captive model with the Open Access Power generation model. Since the Open Access model is especially suitable for those industries and businesses, which are limited in their roof space due to their location in densely built metropolitan areas such as Mumbai and Pune, meeco can now provide the benefits of a cost-efficient sun2fix solar energy supply to greater scale of customers. Therefore, meeco has acquired the land and transmission rights for the design, construction and operation of a 7 MWp sun2fix renewable energy generation plant in the Solapur district of Maharashtra. Th e site offers all necessary conditions for an utility-scale solar-powered Open Access sun2fix renewable energy plant.

The term Open Access describes the use of transmission lines or distribution systems by diverse energy suppliers. This approach follows the intention of separating energy distribution from energy generation: Open Access Power encourages price competition between different energy producers, which in turn provides the Maharashtrian industries the opportunity to grow globally whilst imparting the competitiveness in prices by minimising the cost of power procurement. The approach of Open Access meets the idea of a decentralised power generation by renewable and clean energy sources, such as the sun.

As an experienced manufacturer and service provider meeco will construct and operate a 7 MWp ground-mounted sun2fix solar power plant. In the framework of a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), meeco will sell the generated power to its off-taking clients, which will utilise the produced electricity to operate their own industries and business. This off-balance sheet financing option ensures a reliable green power supply without interruptions and offers immediate and significant cost savings – without any investment costs for the PPA client in the first place.

“Open Access within the Indian state Maharashtra ensures to generate energy at a different site than it will actually be consumed,” explains Mr. Tarun Munjal, Director of meeco India. “This also includes the benefit to be more flexible. We can perfectly utilise available free spaces to install clean energy solutions. For a fee to the grid operator the generated energy can be fed into the grid and can be consumed at another place, where the final PPA cl ient operates. Long term PPAs in combination with Open Access enables private Maharashtrian enterprises to profit from a flexible, eco-friendly, reliable and cost-efficient energy supply. We expect to conclude sufficient PPAs with industrial energy clients within the next 9-12 months to utilise the entire power output of the 7 MWp sun2fix facility. We are ready to further accelerate such sustainable and future-oriented investments to ensure long-term success for our commercial customers.”