OREANDA-NEWS. June 03, 2011. Under stiff competitive bidding, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has won a major turnkey contract for setting up an eco-friendly Grid-Connected Solar Power Plant of 5 MW capacity, reported the press-centre of BHEL.

Valued at nearly Rs.620 Million, the order has been placed on BHEL by Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) for setting up the Solar PhotoVoltaic (SPV) power plant at Belakavadi village near Mandya in Karnataka. BHEL’s scope of the work in the order envisages design, manufacture, supply, installation and operation & maintenance of the solar power plant. With this order, BHEL is presently executing SPV-based power projects of various capacities totaling to 16 MW.

Significantly, KPCL has selected Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic (C-SI PV) technology for this solar power plant which is well proven and has the longest operational experience across the world. The power plant will consist of arrays of thousands of photovoltaic panels made of crystalline silicon that will absorb sunlight and convert it into electricity that will be fed into the main grid. DC power generated by the solar panels will be converted into AC by inverters and fed into the grid through transformers.

Backed by a vast experience of nearly three decades, BHEL is one of the few leading players in the field of solar photovoltaics and SPV power plants in India. The SPV modules are manufactured at its ultra-modern manufacturing facility located at Bangalore. The operations in semi-conductors and solar photovoltaics are supported by an R&D unit, located in Gurgaon.

Starting from small applications like Solar Powered Street Lighting, Rural Water Pumping Systems, Railway Signaling, Offshore Drilling Platforms, etc., BHEL has supplied and commissioned large size Stand-alone as well as Grid Interactive Solar Power Plants in a number of major cities and remote areas of the country. The company’s SPV plants have enabled the people of Lakshadweep, Sagar Islands of West Bengal, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, tribal areas of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, etc., to vastly improve their quality of life.

Solar cells and modules manufactured by BHEL are also exported to countries like Germany, Australia and Italy. The company’s PV modules are certified to international standards by JRC, Ispra, Italy.