India's state-owned Coal mining corporation, Coal India, has signed an agreement with Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam (RRVUNL) to jointly develop energy projects with a combined capacity of 4.1GW.
The companies aim to diversify energy production through a mix of coal-fired thermal power, solar, pump storage and wind projects.
The partnership outlines the establishment of two 800MW coal-based, pit-head power plants in the coal-rich state, with Rajasthan benefitting from the generated power.
The agreement includes a 2GW solar power project within RRVUNL's solar park, a 200MW pump storage project at Jawahar Sagar, a 250MW solar project on land acquired for the Banswara thermal power plant and a 50MW wind project at the existing Ramgarh gas project in Jaisalmer.
RRVUNL has committed to ensuring off-take guarantees from these projects and will manage the acquisition and transfer of developed land parcels to the joint venture company.
Coal India will be responsible for conducting feasibility studies and assessing the financial viability of each proposed project.
Adani Green Energy, a subsidiary of Indian conglomerate Adani Group, has operationalised 1GW of solar energy at the 30GW renewable energy park in Khavda, in the state of Gujarat.
This brings its operational capacity to 9.5GW. The company has a target of 45GW by 2030.
The rapid progress at the Khavda site, which saw the capacity delivered in under a year, required the installation of 2.4 million solar modules. The park will have 30GW of capacity on 538km² of previously barren land.