meeco to install 7MWp open access PV plant in Maharashtra

meeco India Pvt Ltd, wholly owned subsidiary of meeco AG – a Swiss-headquartered company, has announced that it will design, construct, and operate a 7 MWp ground-mounted sun2fix open access solar power plant in the Solapur district of Maharashtra.

The company said that it has augmented its rooftop captive model with the Open Access power generation model. meeco explained that 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. Thus, “we can now provide the benefits of a cost-efficient sun2fix solar energy supply to the greater scale of customers,” it said.

The company has already acquired the land and transmission rights for the plant.

The company mentioned it would comply to the framework of a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), and sell the generated power to its off-taking clients, which will utilize the produced electricity to operate their industries and business. meeco highlighted that the 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.

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 industries the opportunity to grow globally while imparting the competitiveness in prices by minimizing the cost of power procurement. The approach of Open Access meets the idea of a decentralized power generation by renewable and clean energy sources, such as the sun.

“Open Access within the Indian state Maharashtra ensures to generate energy at a different site than it will be consumed,” explains Tarun Munjal, Director of meeco India. “This also includes the benefit to be more flexible. We can correctly utilize 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 client operates.

“Long-term PPAs in combination with Open Access enables private Maharashtrian enterprises to profit from 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 utilize the entire power output of the 7 MWp sun2fix facility. We are ready to accelerate such sustainable and future-oriented investments further to ensure long-term success for our commercial customers.”

The cost of power is one of the critical concerns for industries and commercial enterprises across the globe as well as in India. Maharashtra in India is one of the most industrialized states in India, and the industries are exploring ways to utilize renewable energy to reduce and hedge their energy cost. meeco outlined that the Open Access model provides a method by which renewable solar power can be wheeled across the state to accommodate situations where the energy-intensive customers do not have sufficient space on their premises.