Oil India commissions 5 MW solar power plant in Rajasthan

NEW DELHI: Oil India Ltd, India's second-largest government-owned exploration firm, has commissioned its first 5 MW solar power plant in Rajasthan.

OIL, which has so far built only small solar power plants for captive use, built and commissioned its first grid connected 5 MW unit at village Raghwa in Ramgarh district of Rajasthan, the company said in a statement issued here.

The plant was inaugurated by OIL Chairman and Managing Director S K Srivastava.

OIL plans to expand this unit by another 9 MW. Srivastava said the plant was completed within 118 days. OIL Director (HR and Business Development) N K Bharali said there exists tremendous potential for solar and wind energy projects in Rajasthan and OIL is looking to tap the renewable energy source.

The 9 MW solar power plant expansion will be completed by next year, he said.

The 5 MW solar power plant with Polycrystalline Technology was set up at a total cost of Rs 41.49 crore, the statement added.

The plant consists of 20,408 solar modules, each having a capacity of 245 watts. An overhead transmission line of 11.49 km has been constructed to feed in the generated power to the grid.