A CASE STUDY ON PLANNING OF REWA ULTRA MEGA SOLAR POWER PROJECT

http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/index.asp 1226 editor@iaeme.com
International Journal of Management (IJM)
Volume 11, Issue 8, August 2020, pp. 1226-1244, Article ID: IJM_11_08_111
Available online at http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/issues.asp?JType=IJM&VType=11&IType=8
ISSN Print: 0976-6502 and ISSN Online: 0976-6510
DOI: 10.34218/IJM.11.8.2020.111
© IAEME Publication Scopus Indexed
A CASE STUDY ON PLANNING OF REWA
ULTRA MEGA SOLAR POWER PROJECT
Kesha Patel
Teaching Assistant, IndukakaIpcowala Institute of Management (I2
IM),
Constituent Institute of Charotar University of Science and Technology (CHARUSAT),
Changa, Gujarat, India
Govind B. Dave
Dean, Faculty of Management Studies (FMS)
Principal, IndukakaIpcowala Institute of Management (I2
IM),
Constituent Institute of Charotar University of Science and Technology (CHARUSAT),
Changa, Gujarat, India
ABSTRACT
The Objective of this study explains the Study on Planning of Rewa Ultra Mega
Solar Power Project. India has improved to 2nd from 3rd position, According to the
report published by the "Renewable Energy[1] Country Attractiveness Index." This
has been on account of government initiatives and support for developments in the
country’s economy. The report suggests that, with the government's aim to develop
175 GW of renewable energy by 2022 and make renewable energy accountable for 40
percent of installed power by 2040, India remains in second place
Keywords: Employee satisfaction; Organizational culture; Career trajectory; Work
life balance; Fair compensation
Cite this Article: Kesha Patel and Govind B. Dave, A Case Study on Planning of
Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Power Project, International Journal of Management, 11(8),
2020, pp. 1226-1244.
http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/issues.asp?JType=IJM&VType=11&IType=8
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Industry Background
India has improved to 2nd from 3rd position, According to the report published by the
"Renewable Energy[1] Country Attractiveness Index." This has been on account of
government initiatives and support for developments in the country‟s economy.
The report suggests that, with the government's aim to develop 175 GW of renewable
energy by 2022 and make renewable energy accountable for 40 percent of installed power by
2040, India remains in second place.

A Case Study on Planning of Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Power Project
Figure 1
Source:https://www.insightsonindia.com/2017/04/19/insights-daily-current-affairs-18-april-2017/
As of January 2019, the total installed capacity of the country's renewable energy
(excluding large hydro) was 74.08 GW. The ultimate hope is that India will increase
renewable energy capacity by up to 8.5 GW in 2018-19. The major source of renewable
energy is large hydro projects. In 2017-18, nearly the amount of wind power added was
1,739.14 MW.
By March 2022, an action plan has been framed by the Indian Government, the Ministry
of New and Renewable Energy to achieve a total capacity of 60 GW of hydropower and 175
GW of other RES, including 100 GW of solar power, 60 GW of wind power, 10 GW of
biomass power and 5 GW of small hydropower When market players have ample incentive to
switch to a clean source, this has been one of the big drives for Indian business. By June
2018, the main aim of Government of India was to accomplish 225 GW of renewable energy
capacity by 2022, which was ahead of its goal of 175 GW as set out in the Paris Agreement.
Under the Union budget for 2018-19, Rs 3,762 crore (US$ 581.09 million) was billed for
Grid-Interactive Renewable Energy Schemes and projects.
Renewable Energy is ready to play a significant role, as India‟s energy demand is
expected to hit 15,820 TWh by 2040. By 2030 renewable energies will be reliable to cater
40% of India's power requirements. Clean-energy reserves in India exceeded US$ 7.4 billion
in the first half of 2018.
India has huge potential in solar power generation. Solar energy is helping to light the
households of millions of India‟s citizens who are poor in terms of energy. With the
prospective to grow on a very huge scale, electricity generated through solar is one of the best
few low-carbon technologies used. In the recent years, a rapid growth have been observed in
installation of solar generating capacities. The major attractions for investment in solar
systems are improvement in technologies, price and performance. With the addition of 5,525
MW solar power generation, India‟s solar capacity has crossed 12 GW.
The Government of India (GoI) has formed various programs and initiatives which will
help to extend the solar power at supported solar energy cost. Following are a number of the
govt. initiatives adopted by the govt. for solar sector: (Exhibit 7)
 Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission
 Rooftop Scheme

Kesha Patel and Govind B. Dave
 Solar Park Scheme
 VGF (Viability Gap Funding) Scheme
 Government Yojana Solar Energy Subsidy Scheme
 UDAY Scheme
2. MARKET PLAYERS
Table 1
COMPANY DETAILS
TATA POWER SOLAR
SYSTEMS Ltd.
It holds a place in top ten solar companies of India. Bangalore is home
to the leading Indian solar company. It is the largest integrated solar
company in India. In 1989, Tata Power Solar was set up as a Tata BP
solar. The company produces solar cells, solar modules, and other solar
products, and delivers solar power projects with EPC services.
EMMVEE Photovoltaics Power
Pvt Ltd–
The company is specialized in the development of on-grid and off-grid
photovoltaic modules and systems. In its manufacturing facilities in
Bengaluru, the solar company manufactures and develops high-
performance solar systems using state-of - the-art machinery.
Indosolar Ltd Indosolar is one among India's leading solar firms. Mr. Bhushan Kumar
Gupta launched the company in 2008. He is also Phoenix Lamps Ltd's
founder. The company is using manufacturing techniques of the world
class. It offers local and international markets solar products. Indosolar
Ltd. offers manufacturing techniques of the world class.
Kotak Urja Pvt Ltd– Launched in Bangalore in 1997. It began with the aim of manufacturing
solar water heaters and other advanced solar products which are being
utilized in our daily lives. The company belongs to the 1927 founded
KOTAK Group. It provides a wide range of services.
Photon Energy Systems Ltd– In 1997-98, the company begun its operations. It received financial
support from the Agency for Development of Indian Renewable Energy
Ltd. It includes Solar Water Pumps, Solar Rooftop Power Plants, Solar
Water Heating Systems, Solar Lanterns, Solar PV Modules, Megawatt
Solar Power Plants, etc. It has a production unit module in Hyderabad.
Waaree Energies Ltd It was established in 1989. Additionally to solar power, it offers various
other solutions like industrial valves, process control instrumentation,
and solar power. It's one among India's top solar companies. The
corporate also made its presence worldwide.
Vikram Solar Ltd It is one among India's top ten solar companies. It is a leader in
providing solar power solutions. Vikram Solar Pvt. Ltd offers
comprehensive manufacturing of EPC solutions and modules. It also has
marked its presence international. The corporate offers a good range of
solar products.
Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Ltd. The company was incorporated as a limited company on July 10, 2015.
It is a joint venture between SECI and MPUVNL, with 50% of the share
capital held by both the parties. RUMS Ltd's leadership enabled several
innovations that made solar power a turning point.
Moser Baer Solar Ltd (MBSL) It holds a place among India's prominent solar companies. It's Moser
Baer India Ltd.‟s subsidiary. As mentioned within the website of the
corporate, its total capacity in split technology is 250 MW.
Websol Energy System Ltd. It is one among India's top solar companies. The corporate was launched
in 1990. The corporate began with the vision of providing the answer to
global energy needs. Websol Energy System Limited is one of India's
top brands in the manufacture of crystalline photovoltaic solar cells and
related modules. Established at Falta SEZ, Sector II, Falta, West Bengal,
we have the best manufacturing unit to help us deliver the industry's
best and up-to-date products.

3. OVERVIEW OF THE COMPANY-RUMS
RUMS Ltd. is the company responsible for two solar Parks located in Madhya Pradesh in,
 Rewa District
 Mandsaur District
The company was incorporated as a limited company on July 10, 2015. It is a joint
venture between SECI and MPUVNL, with 50% of the share capital held by both the parties.
The authorized capital of the company is US$ 1.5 million (INR 100 million). The partners of
the joint venture released 0.15 million dollars (INR 10 million) against their share capital. In
addition, the company receives subsidies that are routed periodically via SECI. The company
received 0.56 million US$ (INR 37.5 million) from SECI for FY2015-16, up to 31 March
2016, according to the company's audited reports. RUMS Ltd's leadership enabled several
innovations that made solar power a turning point.
3.1. RUMSL Board
Shri Manu Srivastava, IAS, Chairperson, Rewa Ultra Mega Solar
Limited. He is Madhya Pradesh Cadre's 1991 batch IAS officer. He held
various responsibilities with both the Central and State Governments. He
worked as Principal Secretary, New and Renewable Energy, Govt. of
Madhya Pradesh, and MPUVNL's Managing Director. He is the person
behind the successful implementation of the project that broke records by
accomplishing low tariffs and brought a complete transformation within
the solar energy Scene in India.
Shri C. Kannan, Director (Finance), Solar Energy Corporation of
India Limited, has quite 31 years of experience chiefly in Power and
Steel Sector as a Techno Commercial and Finance Professional. He
played an important role in Power Grid‟s expansion, its financial planning
and strategic growth.
Shri Remesh Kumar K., General Manager (Solar), Solar Energy
Corporation of India Ltd., has more than 28 years of experience in
the power industry. He has worked in various fields such as operation
and maintenance of thermal power plants, construction of projects,
project commissioning, assurance of field quality, project planning and
monitoring. He joined SECI Ltd. as General Manager in March 2013.
He currently heads the Solar Division, IT Division and Corporate
Planning Division. In addition to developing several solar parks, he was
fully involved in the implementation of National Solar Mission projects
such as 750 MW, 2000 MW, 5000 MW, VGF Schemes, etc.
Source: www.rumsl.com
Source: www.rumsl.com

4. INTRODUCTION TO THE PROJECT
Rewa Ultra Mega Solar is a proposed solar power plant spread over an area of 1,590 acres
(6.4 kms) in the Gurh teshil in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, with a solar installed capacity of
750MW. RUMS Ltd. is a joint venture between Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikash Nigam Limited
(MPUVNL) and Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). Completed in 2018, it has
become one of the largest single site solar power plants in India and in the world. RUMSL
was chosen by PGCIL to develop the construction of substation work. Internal infrastructure
for the project was developed by the RUMS Ltd. RUMS Ltd. also developed the project site
which allowed developers to set up the unit without worrying about the evacuation
infrastructure. RUMS Ltd. adopted all the activities for establishing the ultra-mega solar
project, including conceptualization, market consultations, financial and legal structuring and
bid process management.
Figure 2
Table 2 Project Highlights
Project Name
Transmission System for Ultra Mega Solar Park in Rewa,
Madhya Pradesh
Location Western Region
Beneficiary State Madhya Pradesh
Project Cost Rs. 322.14 Crores as on December 2014 Price Level
Commissioning Schedule March, 2017
Rewa Project has gained recognition in India and across the globe for its exclusive
infrastructure and supplying the needs of various power off taker namely; Power Management
Company, MP and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. To assist removal of power from the project
site to variety of customers, PGCIL has developed the 220/400 KV substation.
Madhya Pradesh Power Management Company Limited (MPPMCL): MPPMCL has the
holding of the three distributors in Madhya Pradesh state. The company is accountable for the
three Distribution companies buying bulk electricity. MPPMCL will receive 75 per cent of
Rewa Solar Power Plant power (Exhibit 1).
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC): DMRC, the Delhi Metro acted as a contributory
in steering of a new generation in the promotion of urban transportation on a huge scale in the

country. For the first time in the country, the high-quality and up-to-date Metro system
presented spacious, air-conditioned and environmentally friendly services and thoroughly
modernized the mass transportation scenario in the Nation‟s Capital as well as throughout the
nation. DMRC is likely to receive 25 percent of the power created from the Rewa Solar Power
plant and would provide aid to almost 90% of its daily requirements. The commencement of
this project saved Rs. 4,600 crore to state DISCOMs and Rs. 1400 crore to Delhi Metro over
the project life.
The project passed through all the stages of the Project Life Cycle, including:
Figure 3
4.1. Project Planning
Project planning is the first phase in project life cycle wherein the project scope and methods
for completing the projects is determined. RUMSL very well planned all the activities and
tasks to be carried out in order to start the solar park as per the decided schedule.
Table 3 Project Schedule
Phases Description
Site Location The project includes open scrub wastelands with small parcels of land located at an
elevation of 370 - 400 m above mean sea level (amsl) between the site where
agriculture is practiced.
Site Settings The land for the proposed site consisted mainly of rocky land use of scrub / barren
and is characterized by rural set-up. Most of the study area's land area is rock-
strewn with limited agricultural potential due to irrigation fed by rain. The project
area has an undulating slope with land parcels owned by local population on both
the slope and plain areas.
Power Evacuation It was proposed to evacuate the power from the Solar PV plant to the 220/400 KV
Grid Sub-Station that will be built by PGCIL on 18 hectares of land from Barsaita
Desh Village. The output voltage of the inverter would be 380V, which will be
increased to 33kV and then to 220 kV. The power will be evacuated to 400 KV
Vindhyachal–Jabalpur line owned by MPPMCL, Jabalpur located 30 km south of
the site at an aerial distance. PGCIL was responsible for finalizing transmission
poles alignment and construction from Grid Sub-Station to evacuation line3.
Construction Phase All construction activities took place within the boundaries of the site except those
activities related to the interconnections between the site and the common
infrastructure carried out by the developers engaged outside the site's boundary
wall. Developer was solely responsible for site clearing and site grading as
required for the plant's construction, operation and maintenance.
Operation Phase Approximately 3,75,000 liters / MW / day (500 liters / MW / day) of PV panel
cleaning was estimated during the operational phase. The frequency of cleaning
was ten (10) days, a rocky terrain that tends to be less dust-prone. Boreholes
provided drinking water and process water and required domestic treatment. It has
been estimated there is going to be about. 43-45 KL / day4 of the daily demand for
domestic water. RUMSL officials also learned that District Collector had
previously obtained permission to abstract groundwater. The workforce
requirement for the project's operational phase was estimated at 20-30 employees
including engineers, technicians, housekeeping, admin etc.
Project
Planning
Project Financing
& Costing
Project
Implementation
Project
Termination

Constant Interactions with Bidders and Lenders
Huge market response was achieved during the bidding process with 20 bids, with developers
offering 7500MW, which was 10 times more than the project capability of 750 MW.
International bidders like Softbank (Japan), Engie (France), Enel (Italy), Canadian Solar,
Solenergi (Singapore) participated in the state bidding process. Shortlisted bidders
participated in a 33 hours non-stop bidding process. Mahindra Renewables, ACME Solar
Holdings and Solengeri Power were the winning companies for project‟s three units at tariffs
of Rs. 2.979, Rs. 2.970 and Rs. 2.974 for the principal year. For the solar projects of India,
these were rock bottom tariff ever achieved through a bidding process(Exhibit 1).
Table 4 Bidders for the Project
Bidders who were willing to pay a visit to the project site were provided with full support
and facilities. All the suggestions and concerns were discussed and studied in detail in pre
bidding meetings. This process increased the confidence among the bidders. Such
management of the process also grew confidence among Indian and Foreign companies in the
project.
RUMS was continuously in deliberations with the lenders of the bidders, conditional on
their initiatives in the project, and also convincing them through the strengths of the project.
RUMS also took care of lenders concerns for the project in order to get loan at higher rates to
the respective bidder. The process helped bidders in arranging low-cost finance, because of
the low-risk thought by the lenders.
Full support of GoI was provided to the project. The project got approval from MNRE
under its Solar Park Scheme and allocated the fund of INR 12 lakhs/MW. The Ministry of
Power (MoP) permitted inter-state transmission of power exempt from charges and losses and
also granted the status of Regional Generating Station to the project.
The project provided a huge support to meet the clean energy targets of the country. This
project led to avoiding of CO2 generation of 15.4 lac tonnes every year. This environment
support was equal to planting 2.6 crore trees.
The RUMS project was recommended by MNRE as a model project to all the other states.
MNRE took into consideration the state initiatives as the recommended features of the project
to the chief secretaries of all the other states. The innovations of the RUMS project are
included in the draft of the national level bidding guidelines.
The project is proof of commitment made by Madhya Pradesh to fulfill the promises made
by India to the world community and to the next generation of developing 100 Gigawatt solar
energy by 2022.
Company Capacity Company Capacity
ReNew Power 750MW Hero Future Energies 500MW
Shapoorji Pallonji Infrstructure 250MW Acme Solar 250MW
AMPL Clean tech 250MW Orange Renewables 250MW
Torrent Power 250 MW GDF Suez (Solairedirect) 250MW
SBG Clean tech (Soft Bank) 750MW Mahindra Renewables 500MW
Aditya Birla Renewables 250 MW Rattan India 250MW
Green Infra (Sempcorp) 250 MW Narmada Hydel Dev. Corp. 250MW
ACB (Sanik Group) 250 MW Azure Power 250MW
Enel Green Power 250 MW Rose petal Solar (Adani Group) 250MW
Canadian Solar 250 MW Solenergi Power 250MW

Transparency
A data room was created showcasing the contracts made by RUMS for evacuation process.
The evidences in form of photographs regarding evacuation infrastructure were also displayed
in order to grow confidence among the bidders that the power on the project would be
released and also that the project will work continuously even after completion.
Data room was updated with the khasra numbers of the land availability on regular basis.
So, that the bidders can look at the increasing land availability by the day, 97% land was
available at the time of auction.
4.2. Project Financing & Costing
The developers of the project developed the project without any Viability Gap Funding
(VGF), In order to keep the solar tariffs low this VGF was then used as a tool by large
CPSU‟s.
Until now, the lowest tariff of INR 4.34 was achieved by similar level of large-scale
projects, with significant VGF (SECI bids) or subsidy (NTPC bids). The Rewa project
enabled the government to change concentration from Viability Gap Funding through
interventions such as 'payment security mechanism' to enable scalable models of pure market-
based financing.
Payment Security Mechanism
Considering Discoms performance, SPDs were dependent on the integrity of procurers such
as SECI, NTPC, etc., or the payment structure suggested in the agreements.
Regarding MPPMCL PPA, which was responsible for 75 percent of normal power
offtake, Rewa Project issued letter of credit for 1 month's payment, along with payment
protection fund along with the Madhya Pradesh State Guarantee for MPPMCL's delay in
payments.
The amount was equal to 1.25 times the average of 2 month‟s billing, as against the Letter
of Credit provided by DMRC‟s PPA. A healthy payment decreases the risks that follow the
project and increases the confidence of creditors / lenders for the project. It's difficult to
measure the benefits accomplished with every 1 percent p.a. reduction. In interest rates the
tariff fell to 10 paisa while other issues stayed unchanged.
Equity Infusion
Usually there is a minimum equity infusion condition which obliges the developer under a
certain cost structure. Also, share premium is not considered as a part of the equity, at the
time of infusion, which increases developer‟s liability.
However, RUMSL offered for no restriction or obligation in terms of equity infusion in
the project on behalf of the developer.
It is normal market exercise that the project finance lenders to large projects specify
promises for equity infusion by sponsors/ developers. Full flexibility should be given to
developers to frame the size and timing of their equity infusion in so far as they meet lender
necessities, without which they would not achieve financial closing.
Solar Park Charges: World Bank & CTF Loan
The solar park charges of Rewa were lower as compared to other most Solar Power Park
Developers (SPPDs) in the country. This was possible because of the low cost of land at the
project location and policies of the Government of Madhya Pradesh

A sub-loan agreement for solar power projects were signed by Indian Renewable Energy
Development (IREDA) and Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Ltd (RUMSL).
MNRE, the World Bank and IREDA made a proposal to channelize funds for solar parks
to achieve 100GW solar capacity target by 2022, and also for developing transmission and
evacuation infrastructure loan amount of Rs. 216 crore with interest rate of 8.5% p.a. for
entire loan tenure, with principal repayments upto 5 years and loan repayment period of up to
20 years was sanctioned. The World Bank provided a loan amount of 100 million$ through
IREDA for the development of solar parks in India. Which includes 75 million$ loan from the
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and 23 million$ loan from
Clean Technology Fund (CTF) with interest free CTF grant of 2 million$. IREDA is the
project implementation unit for the loan.
For this project, the internal evacuation infrastructure cost was low because of the MNRE
grants under the Solar Park Scheme and mobilization of World Bank loan. Out of which 25%
consists of concessional loan from Clean Technology Fund, which was available at interest
rate of 0.25%. Rewa is the only solar park to take loan from the World Bank as well as CTF.
The objective of taking World Bank loan was to reduce tariff by approximately 5 paisa/kWh.
Operation and Maintenance Charges
Operations and Maintenance charges pose extra burden on developers and it varies hugely
across the solar parks. The costs compared with the service given are much higher. RUMSL
gave the entire internal evacuation infrastructure to the SPD without any extra costs and, gave
SPDs the right for managing its own costs.
The solar park developers experienced additional Operations and Maintenance cost, other
than the Operations and Maintenance being carried by the SPDs. The increased cost pressure
on developers and the added expense contributed to higher tariffs.
Every addition of Rs.1 lakh/MW in Operations and Maintenance with increase of 5% p.a.
resulted into 10 paisa/kWh. Some solar parks charge heavily between 6%p.a.-10%p.a. Every
increase of 1%p.a. in Operations and Maintenance had an impact of 4 paisa/kWh.
Performance Bank Guarantee
Strict deadlines for milestones like financial completion and implementation of projects have
resulted in SPDs including the fines in their cost.
Under RUMSL PPAs, the encashed Performance Bank Guarantees were considered as
cash preservation and after the particular milestones were achieved this cash preservation
were returned to the SPD.
However, there was no clearness in delay divisions in accomplishing milestones, this
resulted in former PBG being encashed into COD, and no provision was made for returning
the amount even if the particular milestones were achieved.
Since the goal was to finish the projects on the decided timeline for everyone and the
tendering authority wanted the developers to finish the projects on the decided timeline, it was
reasonable to enforce some fines. Nevertheless, after the final goal was achieved without
postponement, the papers evidently showed how the penalties were charged and handled. The
purpose of SPPD was to ensure that the project was completed in the given timeline. This will
also inspire developers to complete the project quickly because they have already paid a fine.

4.3. Project Implementation
Changes in Law-GST
With the GST Law and incorporating its impact, the significance of this clause came into
being in the immediate term. While developers were expected to accurately identify the main
regulatory / tax scenario and were able to do so, it became challenging for them to predict the
effect of any law / tax rate changes, this led developers to keep a tariff safeguard to regulate
equity returns among such uncertainty.
The developers sought accuracy and ease in searching for the effect of any modification in
law, and tended to replicate the equivalent uncertainity in the planned tariff. While it was
clear that during the project's life cycle GST would become a reality, but GST levels were not
understood depending on their risk understanding, developers would fluctuate between 60
paisa / kWh and 75 paisa / kWh, respectively. MNRE studies on GST have indicated an effect
between 12 and 16 per cent on Solar-PV (Grid) projects.
RUMSL covered the influence of change in law on both the elements of project costs as
well as revenue.
In the Change in Law clause of the RUMSL PPA, there was comparatively more
clarification that allowed developers to mark the tariff with existing tax laws in mind, rather
than being simply mandatory to affect any unpredictable tax changes. The effect of this on the
bidders' tariff may be as high as 45 paisa / kWh depending on the coming into force of the
GST back then during the project construction and the rate of GST applied to the solar panels
and other cost elements.
Commissioning Timelines
Timelines commissioning, with no simplicity on the attentiveness of the pre-project, increased
the uncertainty in the developer's minds given the enormous scale of projects that had yet to
be carried out. The SPD was intended to incorporate the effect of the penalties imposed in the
event that the timelines could not be met, even for events beyond its control, such as land that
the SPPD provided late or delayed in progressing of evacuation system.
In Rewa's case, day zero of their duties and responsibilities began with 90% of the land
being transferred to the SPD, calming both lenders and developers.
Usually tenders have timelines for commissioning, irrespective of project scale and solar
park preparation, which was very strict and burdened the developer with increased risk factor
mitigation.
Similarly, land acquisition / connectivity became a major concern for developers with
growing solar installations for non - solar park tenders. The majority of developers faced
problems in timely completion of the projects.
Construction timelines needed to be associated with the land hand over for solar park
tenders.
Evacuation Infrastructure
The certainty about the accessibility of the evacuation infrastructure in the given timelines
tends to reassure SPDs. Or else, it has become difficult for developers to plan their project, as
the other infrastructure development schedule becomes challenging enough to manage or
match.
RUMSL tender documents had been drafted to reduce that uncertainty. Initially, the ISA
and Coordination Agreements were signed and the protocol for joint working and joint
meetings was emphasised. It also provided the tool for regularly scheduled monthly review
meetings, and sharing work progress / schedules. While parallel activities were taking place in

other solar parks, recognizing them at the bid stage offered the developers, especially the
foreign participants, greater comfort.
Additionally, RUMSL tender documents naturally offered a minimum daily extension if
projects and activities to be conducted by RUMSL have been postponed. The documents also
provided flexibility for developers to overtake the design of the internal evacuation system in
occasion the developers had concerns about the same evolution.
In general, SPD had to rely on the timelines of the evacuation system built by the external
agency to be taken care of by the solar power park developers. In addition, the documents did
not elucidate the extended regulations to justify delays in the transfer of land or internal
evacuation.
Besides Rewa Solar Park, all future solar parks would require a Performance Bank
Guarantee of Rs 3 Lac / MW from the prosperous developers. It was noticeable that the
obligation to provide services lied with the SPPD and SPPD lied to the developer, the
developers send the Performance Bank Guarantee. It is an avoidable expense that developers
had to budget and if eliminated, tariffs could have been reduced by ~0.5 paisa / kWh as well.
In short, the SPPD's evidently identified role / responsibilities and removal of unwanted
costs, increased developers ' confidence and had a positive impact on tariffs.
4.4. Project Termination
Clarifications concerning the early termination of the contract arising from the default of any
party were a required calming aspect for project developers and also the financiers to
effectively safeguard their investments.
If by default there is a case of termination by any organization, RUMSL offered an
alternative for reasonable termination compensation to the effecting party, hence freeing itself
from the consequences of debt unpaid and equity investment insurance cover. Such
establishment was made for the first time in the Indian renewable energy sector in the case of
the Rewa project, and is being implemented today in the entire country.
The above effects are a possible changing direction for solar power in the country, based
on the Indian government's policies and expanding them further through developments that
open up new opportunities. The astonishing low tariff of INR 2.97 has been accomplished
without any VGF for developers, however alike large-scale projects have attained the lowest
tariff so far of INR 4.34, with substantial Viability Gap Funding (SECI bids) or subsidy
(NTPC bids). This allowed the Indian Government to move attention to permitting scalable
models of pure market based financing by interpositions such as „payment security
mechanism‟ rather than viability gap funding.
5. PROJECT INNOVATIONS
One of Rewa Project's many developments was the creation of the Payment Protection Fund,
entirely based on market principles with IREDA and without receiving any financial
allocation in the budget from the Indian Government which was otherwise provided to other
projects.
Supplying power to an inter-state open access consumer, Rewa becomes the first solar
project in India for the same. One of the project‟s customers Delhi Metro Railway
Corporation (DMRC) purchased almost 24% of the project‟s electricity generated on a normal
basis.
The power supply in power projects is distributed uniformly to all the off-takers. In a solar
project solar creation differs based on solar incidence. As a result, a solar project's power

supply to off-takers varied over time and a proportionate supply system was not able to meet
the requirement of DMRC.
As a result, RUMS came up with an optimal scheduling plan developed out of the first
ideologies to look after DMRC‟s day-time power requisite. The power generated from the
project was provided to DMRC until all of their intake requirements were fulfilled and the
remaining balance power would be provided to the state. This arrangement of supply by
RUMS would allow DMRC to fulfill almost 90% of their daily intake from Rewa.
Considering Delhi Metro‟s assurance to green energy, DMRC benefits from Discoms at over
Rs. 6/unit, is above Rs. 100 crore annually (Exhibit 2).
6. SPECIAL FEATURES
The development of internal evacuation infrastructure of the plant was undertaken with funds
from CTF and World Bank. This empowered the project to have very low solar park charges,
which was one of the special features behind the low tariff accomplished in the project. The
internal evacuation infrastructure was developed with support from MP Transco. PGCIL
developed a 220/400 kV Inter-state transmission system for the project, which was without
any expenditure to RUMS or the state of Madhya Pradesh.
The main reason for low and better tariff was the optimum distribution of the risk between
procurers, developers and RUMS.
Mostly in the contracts structured by the government for government contracting, it is
designed in such a way that the government tolerates minimum risks and all the remaining
uncertainties are passed on to the suppliers/developers, who are equally liable to load the
same on the cost.
In case of Rewa, the project structuring was done as per the global standards. After taking
into consideration the impacts on tariff and optimum distribution of risks between procurers,
Solar Project Developers, and the Solar Power Park Developers several features of the Rewa
Project were designed.
By working comprehensively with the final procurers, the transaction structure with
expert inputs from reputed transaction advisors were developed, to meet the challenge of
absence of Viability Gap Funding (VGF).
International Finance Corporation (IFC) part of the World Bank Group provided an
extremely knowledgeable transaction advisory support for the project. The project received
World Bank Group‟s President‟s Award for innovation and excellence. The project was
involved in the Prime Minister‟s “A Book of Innovation: New Beginnings”. The Project has
been prized in Global Infrastructure Facility, created by the World Bank, for its optimum
distribution of risks and has been held as a model project for attracting investment from
multilateral banks, institutional investors, etc. into evolving economies.
7. PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED AND SOLUTIONS
Madhya Pradesh state had never handled such mega projects before. Such mega projects were
handled by SECI & NTPC.
The credit rating of one of the biggest buyers of the project, MPPMCL, was an issue
which was solved through state guarantee.
At the beginning of the project, it was difficult to win the trust of the developers by
bringing a high credit entity like DMRC as an off taker, which was a complex issue to solve.
Nobody ever attempted to provide inter-state power supply to any open access customer like
Delhi Metro. There was an additional challenge of variation in DMRC‟s daily power demand
through the day, as the demand also reduced during weekends and holidays. There was only

one way that would help in meeting DMRC‟s varying high demands, it was that if Long Term
Open Access (LTOA)[2] from WR to NR were kept high, say it to be 150MW.
If LTOA of 600MW was implied in place of LTOA of WR-NR 150MW, during the
period of low demand of DMRC as such of 60 MW and the high power production of the
plant such as 740MW, the remaining power would be of 680MW from the project, however
the state‟s capacity would be limited by LTOA of 600MW only. After evaluating all of the
above options, it was decided the LTOA of WR-NR would be kept at 99MW and for the state
the LTOA would be 651MW.
Highlighting the difference between power contract, where LTOA and energy ratios
would be the same and the way Rewa contracts are structured, with LTOA ration of 13% and
energy ratio of 24% for DMRC, with the help of optimum scheduling, the power supply to
DMRC on normal basis would be 24% and to Madhya Pradesh state would be 76%.
The growing insecurities of the developers and specifically the international bidders
regarding the procurement of land. However, on the day of the auction 97% of the land was
ready. In order to grow confidence among the bidders that there is not any risk in their project
being developed without any evacuation facility, regular update of the land being procured
were displayed in the data room, along with the photographs of the infrastructure, both
internal construction by RUMS and external by PGCIL.
8. CONCLUSION
Rewa Solar Power Project started the power supply from 6th
July, 2018. With an exceptionally
low rate of Rs. 2.97 the project provided environmental friendly power to the state, which was
marked to be less than its average power procurement cost.
In the first year along with an increase provision of Rs.0.05 per year for the coming 15
years which levelised the tariff to Rs.3.30/unit, were set on the tariff of Rs. 2.97/unit. The
final tariff of Rs.1.04 is low as compared to the prior lowest tariff of Rs. 4.34/unit bid a year
back, for NTPC‟s Project in Rajasthan and Rs. 9 cheaper than the average tariff cited in the
JNNSM Batch I bidding in 2010 (Exhibit 3).
However there were certain speculations recently regarding the increase in tariff of
DMRC because it had to buy power from Rewa Solar Park at Rs.4.21 instead of Rs. 3.30
(Exhibit 4). However, it was found that the reason of Delhi Metro‟s tariff is the additional
inter-state transmission and Rewa Solar Park need not to be blamed. However, the decision
for the same is pending.
Exhibit 1
Figure 4

Exhibit 2
Figure 5
Exhibit 3
Table 5
Exhibit 4
Figure 6

Exhibit 5
Figure 7
Exhibit 6
Figure 8
EXHIBIT 7
Types of Renewable Energy

Exhibit 8
Government Initiatives for Solar Sector
1. Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission
It aims at reducing the solar power generation cost also in addition to install 20,00MW of
grid-connected solar power via-
 Long-Term Policy
 Large Scale deployment goals
 Research and Development
 Domestic Production of Raw Materials.
2. Rooftop Scheme
The scheme executed by SECI (Solar Energy Corporation of India) has 200 MW of projects
being assigned, out of which 45 MW of capacity have been appointed. And also, under this
scheme several additional schemes like 73MW for warehouses and 50 MW for the CPWD
(Central Public Works Department) have been brought in practice. A tender which is a part of
MNRE‟s (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy) initiative launched by SECI offers 30%
subsidy to residential sector, not for profit organizations, social sector and health care
institutions to gain momentum in achieving target of 40GW of rooftop solar power generation
by 2022.
3. Solar Park Scheme
MNRE introduced a scheme to build various solar parks across the states in India, where each
park will have a capacity of 500MW. The scheme offers to provide financial support by GoI
to support the construction of infrastructure that would be required for establishing the solar
power projects, in context of allocation of land, transmission of equipmens and materials,
accessibility to roads, availability of water, etc. The solar parks would be developed with the
collaboration with the state government. On behalf of the Government of India SECI would
be working as an implementing agency.
4. VGF (Viability Gap Funding) Scheme
Under VGF scheme, SECI has made multiple project allocations. Out of the first 750MW
allocated and executed 680MW capacity has been installed and appointed. On Build, Own,
Operate basis the VGF support will be provided for setting up grid connected solar plants
having a minimum capacity of 2000MW by solar developers.
5. Government Yojana Solar Energy Subsidy Scheme
Financial assistance and capital subsidy will be provided up to 50%, 70% and 90% depending
on the basic cost of solar energy plant, under this scheme. This scheme is formed to
encourage the utilization of solar energy. The scheme plans to eradicate the electricity
problem and the use of solar energy to grow the textile business. The scheme will help in
cutting down the electricity bills and the load on thermal power plants, thus increasing power
generation through solar energy.
6. UDAY Scheme
This scheme formulated by GoI is optional for the State Governments to join. As per the
scheme, the state government will take up to 75% of the debt through issuing of sovereign
bonds to be paid back to the lenders, and the remaining 25% will be sanctioned in the form of
bonds.

Exhibit 9
Table 6 State Wise Power Generated from Solar Plants in India (2012-13 to 2018-19)
(In Millions)
States/UTs 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018 2018-2019-
upto June, 2018
Andaman and Nicobar
Islands
- - - 6.26 6.17 6.88 1.51
Andhra Pradesh 108.84 207.11 159.77 282.67 1599.78 3658.97 1139.93
Arunachal Pradesh - - - 0.22 0.14 0.23 0.28
Assam 0.00 0.00 9.65 31.60 2.69 8.36 1.56
Bihar - - - 6.39 109.18 145.34 37.12
Chandigarh 0.00 0.00 2.23 3.40 13.16 7.87 5.01
Chhattisgarh 2.49 11.42 12.65 52.70 120.91 136.54 92.05
Dadra and Nagar
Haveli
0.00 0.00 0.03 0.50 1.31 5.23 1.52
Daman and Diu 0.00 0.00 0.15 4.25 14.43 18.53 5.20
Delhi 3.68 3.29 3.18 4.11 5.68 13.41 3.81
Goa/NTPC Rajgar 0.00 0.00 62.94 81.00 - -
Gujarat 1145.52 1369.39 1474.56 1497.60 1738.28 2048.40 610.70
Haryana 0.00 0.00 10.36 114.96 19.70 64.65 18.44
Himachal Pradesh - - - 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Jammu and Kashmir - - - 0.00 0.77 0.00 0.00
Jharkhand 6.81 0.00 8.32 19.77 38.47 19.47 4.97
Karnataka 16.27 38.25 100.39 187.69 524.67 2391.73 1590.30
Kerala 0.00 0.00 0.00 7.38 26.52 55.35 16.21
Lakshadweep 0.00 0.00 4.90 1.02 1.59 1.79 0.37
Madhya Pradesh 10.82 247.05 562.29 1105.28 1366.10 1911.70 625.12
Maharashtra 28.61 257.42 349.32 638.76 577.83 1100.67 529.69
Manipur - - - 0.00 0.01 0.15 0.12
Meghalaya - - - 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Mizoram - - - 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Nagaland - - - 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Odisha 17.98 34.28 44.94 150.73 210.81 204.77 59.94
Puducherry 0* 2.45* 15.62* 16.02* 0.34 1.17 0.51
Punjab 1.29 51.69 129.89 380.57 909.20 1432.07 465.22
Rajasthan 266.34 1052.23 1259.19 1766.10 2131.61 3469.25 1040.89
Sikkim - - - 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Tamil Nadu 25.88 38.87 158.75 507.18 1898.34 2906.01 834.41
Telangana 0.00 0.00 138.13 402.51 1337.90 4013.80 1628.75
Tripura - - - 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Uttar Pradesh 14.11 14.96 20.13 89.75 230.95 637.02 304.99
Uttarakhand 0.00 5.55 11.63 5.87 37.77 291.08 92.03
West Bengal 0.00 0.00 7.58 6.28 14.96 20.47 9.41
DVC - - - 0.00 0.01 0.06 0.02
NEEPCO 0.00 0.00 0.98 6.15 6.89 6.71 1.70
NTPC (Rajgarh) - - - 81.00 82.21 340.13 139.15
NTPC Andman/Talchar 0.00 6.51 18.79 18.91 20.00 20.43 5.27
NTPC Dadri + FBD +
Unchahar/Singrauli
0.00 6.10 22.90 42.41 74.90 480.99 129.19
NTPC Ramagundam - - - 16.02 350.53 426.37 112.03
Oil India Ltd. 0.00 0.00 9.09 9.90 25.59 25.46 6.56
India 1648.63 3346.57 4589.27 7447.94 13499.41 25871.07 9513.98

Exhibit 10
Abbreviations
MW- Mega Watts
GW- Giga Watts
TWh- Tera Watt Hour
FDI- Foreign Direct Investment
SECI- Solar Energy Corporation of India
CPWP- Central Public Works Department
MNRE- Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
MPUVNL- Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikash Nigam Limited
RUMSL- Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Limited
PGCIL- Power Grid Corporation of India Limited
MPPMCL- Madhya Pradesh Power Management Company Limited
SPD- Solar Project Developers
NTPC- National Thermal Power Corporation Limited
DMRC- Delhi Metro Rail Corporation
PPA- Power Purchase Agreement
CTF- Clean Technology Fund
IBRD- International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
GST- Goods and Services Tax
SPPD- Solar Power Park Developers
IREDA- Indian Renewable Energy Development
LTOA- Long Term Open Access
JNNSM- Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission
KEYNOTES
1. Energy that's collected from renewable resources that are naturally restored on a person's
duration, like sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves, and heat.
2. Open Access enables heavy users with more than 1 MW connected load to buy cheap
power from the open market. Once the consumers are given the choice to purchase power
from the open market, it will lead to competitive pricing of electricity making its cost go
down. LTOA is purchase rights under inter-state open access for 12-25 years.
REFERENCES
[1] www.rumsl.com
[2] https://amplussolar.com/blogs/the-top-government-programes-in-the-solar-sector

[3] https://www.zaubacorp.com/company/REWA-ULTRA-MEGA-SOLAR-
LIMITED/U40102MP2015PLC034450
[4] http://www.energynext.in/2017/05/rewa-a-case-study/
[5] https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/rewa-mega-solar-project-starts-
supplying-power-118070600866_1.html
[6] https://solardae.com/sundae/glorification-criticism-solar-energy/
[7] https://www.intersolar.in/en/news-press/news/industry-news/rewards-of-harvesting-the-sun-
the-rewa-way.html

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