Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) secured its maiden overseas turnkey contract for a grid-connected 8 MWac Solar Photovoltaic (PV) power plant. The solar farm will be set up by BHEL at Tamarind Falls, Henrietta (Phase II), Mauritius on Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) basis. The contract has been BHEL by CEB (Green Energy) Co. Ltd, Mauritius, a subsidiary owned by the Central Electricity Board (CEB), Government of Mauritius. The contract agreement for the project was exchanged between the Mauritian and Indian side during the Indian external affairs minister’s visit to Mauritius.
Funding from the project comes from the Government of India’s Line of Credit (LOC) and has been secured by BHEL through a competitive bidding process. The project will be executed by BHEL’s Solar Business Division, Bengaluru and International Operations Division, New Delhi. “The solar project in Mauritius marks the consolidation of BHEL’s presence in Africa, where it has been active for more than four decades with electricity generation projects (approx. 2,100 MVV) and equipment supplies in 23 African countries.” Stated a company release.
“Apart from conventional power plants, BHEL has been contributing significantly to the development and promotion of solar energy over the past three decades. BHEL offers EPC solutions for both grid-interactive and off-grid, ground mounted, rooftop, floating and canal top solar plants, with a current solar portfolio of more than 1 GW. In addition, BHEL is also manufacturing space-grade solar panels and batteries for space applications,” concluded the release.