London’s AIM-listed clean energy producer Greenko Group plc has commissioned phase 1 of its 51.2 MW Balavenkatpuram wind farm located in Andhra Pradesh in India, as per a stock market disclosure.
The total cost of the first phase was approximately €40 million ($53.5 million) and uses a GE turbine, which has the potential to deliver close to a 30 per cent capacity in a year.
"The project is completed a month ahead of schedule and takes Greenko's total generating portfolio to 411 MW, a 38 per cent increase since April 2013. The project has secured a 25-year power purchase agreement with the state of Andhra Pradesh and benefits from the recently increased tariff," the company said in the release.
"Our first two wind farms refined our modular approach to wind farm construction, which is now delivering substantial and predictable growth. As a result, we should double our generating capacity this financial year to 600 MW and remain in line to hit our 2015 target of 1,000 MW," said Anil Chalamalasetty, CEO of Greenko.
The grid connection for the Balavenkatpuram site's full capacity of 200 MW has also been completed. Its second phase which would add another 50 MW using Gamesa's turbine is currently under construction and on schedule.
Founded in 2006, Hyderabad-based Greenko Group is a renewable energy generation company involved in biomass, hydro and wind energy. The company aims to reach 2,000 MW of operational capacity by 2018.
It had recently signed up an agreement with Spanish wind turbine company Gamesa for the supply of 300 MW of wind turbines.
(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)