The journey to create a carbon-free India: First Solar signs a 15-year PPA with Cleantech Solar

First Solar has announced a positive development in its efforts to promote clean energy in India. The company has teamed up with Cleantech Solar to supply its new thin-film solar module factory in Tamil Nadu with renewable energy. 

The two firms have entered into a 15-year power purchase agreement, under which Cleantech Solar will build 150MW of solar and 17MW of wind capacity in the state. 

How will this partnership work? 

Once operational, these generation assets are expected to produce approximately 7.3 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity, which will be supplied to First Solar's 3.3GW factory. This move is expected to fulfil up to 70% of the facility's electricity requirements. 

Moreover, Cleantech Solar has committed to purchasing 150MW of India-made Series 7 thin-film solar panels from First Solar to power the solar component of the PPA. The delivery of the modules is expected to take place in the first half of 2024.

The vice president and managing director of First Solar, India, Sujoy Ghosh, explained: "Our new manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu sets a high benchmark for responsible and sustainable vertically integrated solar manufacturing, not just in India, but globally."

"By powering our operations with clean, renewably-generated electricity, we are working to further reduce our environmental footprint, which is already the lowest in the industry," Ghosh added.

Feasibility of the project and the reason for a strategic location 

The Tamil Nadu plant of First Solar is designed to curtail its impact on local water resources and relies entirely on tertiary-treated reverse osmosis water from the city's sewage treatment plant with zero wastewater discharge.

The factory also houses a solar recycling plant that uses closed-loop semiconductor recovery for use in new modules and recovers other materials, including aluminium, glass, and laminates. This agreement is one of the largest intra-state PPAs in India, with Cleantech Solar's renewable energy parks in Tamil Nadu already providing solar, wind and hybrid energy solutions to its corporate clients.

With this latest agreement, Cleantech Solar's portfolio size in Tamil Nadu now stands at nearly 500MW across operations and construction stages, including solar, wind, and hybrid power projects. If you wish to know more about sustainable approaches in the aluminium industry, please spare some time on AL Circle's special report, Sustainability in the Global Aluminium Industry.