Azure Power, an independent
solar power producer, has today
been awarded a grant from the
United States Trade & Development
Agency (USTDA), to assess the
development and accelerate adoption
of solar power in rural India. The
$476,670 (around Rs.24 million) grant
will fund a feasibility study on two
500kW micro-grid solar photovoltaic
power generation pilot projects in the
states of Gujarat and Chhattisgarh.
Azure Power will, with this study,
open up the potential of electrifying
rural India through solar powered
micro-grids. Micro grids are islands of
renewable power generation, power
storage and enable localized power
distribution. Given the power-starved
situation in several thousand Indian
villages, where grid-connectivity is yet
to be realized, Azure Power believes
that micro-grids are a viable energy
alternative for household and
agricultural purposes.
There are an estimated 58,000 non-electrified
villages which together
provide a market potential of about 0.9
GW. Following the study, Azure aims
to set up over 100 micro-grid solar
systems, with each system covering an
average of 2-3 acres of rural land which
would generate sufficient power to
electrify approximately 800-1,000
villages with little or no connectivity to
existing electrical grids.
The USTDA India mission aims to
further development of projects that
have a positive economic, social and
environmental impact while
promoting exports of US to India.
The grants provided by USTDA
support the initiation of such
projects and bring them close to
realization. "With this USTDA
partnership we expect to unlock the
potential of solar power generation
in rural communities," noted H S
Wadhwa, COO, Azure Power.
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