Solar installed at Brakes India

Brakes India, a leading auto parts firm, has set up a 7.72-MW solar power plant at its facility at Munanjipatti in Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu. The plant involved an investment outlay of about Rs.66 crore.

It has been set up under the Group Captive Scheme without involving any subsidy mechanism.

SunEdison, solar energy services firm, set up the plant for Brakes India.

The plant has been set up to meet the norms, which expect that high-tension customers in Tamil Nadu to source six per cent of their energy use from solar, set out by the state government.

It will generate over 14 million kWh of electricity a year, which will offset more than 6 per cent of Brakes India’s electricity use.

“This project will lead to birth of a new segment in solar. This could probably be the first largest solar power plant set up in the country without subsidy mechanism,” said Pashupathy Gopalan, President of SunEdison Asia-Pacific.

SunEdison will provide financing and install the solar system, which promises advanced trackers and high efficiency solar panels to maximise the amount of electricity generated.

“Use of trackers raises the cost of a plant by 12 per cent, but result in 15-18 per cent more generation,” he pointed out.

S. Kesavan, Executive Director (Operations and Finance) of Brakes India, said that solar power was seen as a viable option to invest given the high solar insolation in the State for almost 10 months in a year.

The tariff has not been disclosed. However, Mr. Kesavan pointed out that the tariff would remain the same for a long period even if it was higher than the price that the state-owned electricity utility charged.