Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp has ventured into its first project in Andhra Pradesh, starting off its US$20 billion commitment to commission 20-Gigawatt clean and safe energy in India.
SoftBank’s SB Energy has joined India’s Bharti Enterprises Limited and Taiwanese top design and manufacturing services provider Foxconn Technology Group to develop a 350MW solar plant under the Phase-II, Batch-II, Tranche-I of National Solar Mission at a 25-year tariff of Rs. 4.63/ kWh.
The joint venture solar project, under the flagship Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM), is located the state-owned Ghani Sakunala Solar Park, Kurnool District. The park will provide land and facilities such as roads, drainage and evacuation to developers.
Nikesh Arora, President & COO, SoftBank, said “Our goal is to create a market-leading renewable energy company, to fuel India’s growth with clean, reliable and affordable sources of energy. I am glad that we could open our account today with this win. This project will immensely contribute to the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of meeting the country’s energy demands through clean sources and India’s commitment to providing a safe environment, following the recent Paris convention.”
New Delhi-headquartered SB Energy has Bharti veteran Manoj Kohli as its Executive Chairman and SoftBank executive Raman Nanda as CEO.
Solar in India is likely to grow by 250% in 2015. Globally, renewable energy outpaced that of fossil fuels in 2015 and a record 107 GW was added through wind, solar, geothermal and other natural sources. Renewable power has the potential to provide every Indian with access to electricity. fii-news.com.
