By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, August 24, 2016 : Essel Green Energy, an arm of Subhash Chandra’s Essel Group, has won the bulk of the 270 MW tender floated by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for projects in Odisha.

Essel has been awarded 240 MW, while Jyoti Infrastructure has got 10 MW and IBC Solar Ventures India 20 MW, sources said.

This is the first major solar auction in Odisha. An auction of 20 MW was held in 2014 under the first phase of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission.

The state has entered late into renewable energy sector since the tariffs are not competitive with thermal power priced low.

However, the state is in the process of identifying land to set up a solar park with a capacity of about 1,000 MW across 5,000 acres, with a total investment of Rs 6,500 crore. The winners of the latest auction will have to locate and develop their own land.

The Odisha project is the biggest that Essel Green Energy has won and is larger than its entire current solar portfolio of 225 MW across 12 projects, six of which have been commissioned.