ENGIE has commissioned a 200MW solar project at Khavda in Gujarat’s Kutch district, adding to the state’s renewable energy infrastructure and forming part of 450MW of solar capacity the company has operationalised in India. The project will supply electricity to Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (GUVNL) under a 25-year power purchase agreement.
Located within the Khavda Renewable Energy Park in the Rann of Kutch, the project was developed through Enren II Energy Pvt Ltd. ENGIE said it is expected to generate around 350 million units of electricity annually. The long-term agreement with GUVNL provides the contractual framework for supplying the power generated by the facility to Gujarat’s state electricity system.
The commissioning is part of a wider expansion by ENGIE in India. The company has also commissioned a 250MW solar project at Khaba in Rajasthan’s Barmer district. Together, the Gujarat and Rajasthan projects have increased ENGIE’s operational solar capacity by 450MW.
Amit Jain, CEO and country manager of ENGIE India, said the Khavda project reflected the company’s focus on local employment alongside renewable energy development. Around 80% of the construction workforce for the two solar projects was hired locally, according to the company.
ENGIE said it now has around 2GW of renewable energy capacity in operation or under construction in India. Its current expansion is not limited to standalone solar generation. The company is also developing battery energy storage and hybrid renewable energy projects, which combine different generation and storage technologies.
The company secured a 280MW/560MWh battery energy storage system project from GUVNL last November. In January, it also won a hybrid project involving 200MW of solar capacity and a 100MW/600MWh battery storage system. These projects indicate that ENGIE’s India portfolio is expanding from solar generation towards storage-backed and hybrid power infrastructure.
The Khavda commissioning adds generation capacity in a region that has become a major location for renewable energy development. The project’s output, contractual supply arrangement and local workforce participation are the immediate operational details disclosed by the company. ENGIE said it would continue expanding its presence through solar, battery storage and hybrid solutions.
