Reliance Solar Thermal Plant to start in June After Delays

A Reliance Power Ltd. (RPWR) solar-thermal plant should start up next month after missing a May deadline because Indian authorities failed to lay a water pipeline to the site in time, Chief Executive Officer Jayaram P. Chalasani said.

The 100-megawatt project “is ready to go” as soon as the water arrives, Chalasani told reporters today in Mumbai. The Rajasthan state government is completing the pipeline and the plant should begin generating after testing, he said.

India extended the deadline for solar-thermal plants by 10 months to March and will waive late penalties for the project and another six developments being built by companies including Godawari Power and Ispat Ltd. and Lanco Infratech Ltd. (LANCI), he said.

Solar-thermal plants focus sunlight to produce steam and are valued for their ability to store energy. The 470 megawatts of projects, India’s first to use the technology, also struggled with importing equipment and raising funds, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Joint Secretary Tarun Kapoor said last week.

Reliance Power, using technology from Areva SA (AREVA), invested 21 billion rupees ($383 million) in its project, Chalasani said.