Valued at around Rs.350 Million, the Solar Photovoltaic plants will be built on 8 islands of Lakshadweep - including the capital Kavaratti. In addition to the new projects, the Lakshadweep Administration has awarded Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) the contract to renovate existing solar power plants (800 kW) on the islands.

BHEL’s scope of work in the contract includes design, manufacture, supply and installation of the PV plants. While all the new plants will be set up by May 2011, the renovation job will be completed progressively by February 2012.

BHEL is presently executing another turnkey contract that will see a 3 MW PV plant built at Yapalaniddi village in the Raichur District of North Karnataka for Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL).

As part of India’s largest solar power-based Island electrification project in India, BHEL has commissioned a total of 11 solar PV plants in the Lakshadweep islands, adding over 1MW of Solar Power to the power generating capacity of the coral islands in the Arabian Sea. Notably, BHEL’s Solar Power Plants cater to about 15% of the Union Territory’s energy demand.