First Solar Inc of Tempe, AZ, USA, the world's biggest thin-film solar module manufacturer and one of the largest developers of utility-scale solar projects worldwide (with a global project pipeline of more than 2500MW), has announced its first development project in India.

Through its Indian subsidiary, the firm plans to build 45MWAC capacity of solar power generation in the new state of Telangana, supplying electricity through the grid to the Southern Power Distribution Company of Telangana State Ltd (TSSPDCL) at a levelized tariff of Rs6.49p/kwh for a period of 20 years.

The project will include construction at two different sites in the Mahabubnagar district, and is expected to be in commercial operation by May 2015.

"The state of Telangana has an energy deficit that demands immediate creation of incremental generation capacity,” says Sujoy Ghosh, country head for First Solar India. “The excellent solar resource in the state, combined with our CdTe thin-film module technology that is ideally suited for hot climates like India, allows us to bid tariffs that brings solar energy pricing to parity with diesel/gas and potentially imported coal, for the consumers across all segments,” he adds. “We are optimistic that the state will enhance their plans for creating a higher deployment of solar in the overall energy mix to address the energy deficit in a sustainable manner.”

Construction of the project is expected to begin by October. On completion, the projects are expected to produce about 86,880 MW-hr of electricity each year (sufficient to meet the needs of over 92,000 average homes in Telangana).