Charisma Energy, Sunseap win 140MWp India solar power project

A JOINT-VENTURE firm of Charisma Energy has been given a contract to develop solar power plants in India and to supply power to the country's state-owned power company for 25 years.

Rising Sun Energy, which Charisma owns together with Singapore solar firm Sunseap International and a local Indian partner, will be building a solar farm with a capacity of 140 megawatts at peak conditions (MWp).

It will also have a 25-year contract to supply power to National Thermal Power Corporation, the largest power company in India, at a fixed rate of 4.35 rupees (9.2 Singapore cents) per KWh, said Sunseap.

The project is part of a 420-MWp solar farm development in Bhadla Solar Park in Rajasthan, the state with the largest commissioned installed solar capacity in India.

To be funded through internal resources and debt financing, it is expected to start commercial operations in the second quarter of next year and will generate some US$80.9 million in revenue in the first five years, Charisma said in a filing to Singapore Exchange on Wednesday.

The project is a significant addition to Charisma's portfolio of renewable energy assets, said its CEO Serko Tan.

It also cements the group's recent shift to renewable energy. Charisma in December last year acquired a 50 per cent stake in Grenzone, which designs and installs solar-generated equipment, through a share swap.

Charisma said the project is not expected to have a material impact on the group's financial results for the current financial year.