The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has provided approval to Avaada Energy and Ayana Renewable Power to construct transmission lines for 350 MW and 300 MW of solar projects, respectively, in Rajasthan.

Avaada Energy had applied for the approval for laying of transmission lines for a 350 MW project in Bikaner, Rajasthan.

The company will develop a 400 kV single circuit line for the project. The overhead transmission lines will pass through several villages in the Bikaner district.

CEA also permitted Ayana Renewable Power One, a subsidiary of Ayana Renewable Power, to develop transmission lines for its 300 MW solar project, also in the Bikaner district. The company will develop  400 kV single circuit overhead transmission lines for the project.

Both projects have a 25-year approval from the CEA.

CEA said that both companies have to seek the consent of authorities such as local bodies, Railways, National Highways, and State Highways, for laying the transmission lines.

Last month, CEA provided approval to special purpose vehicles of Eden Renewables and SoftBank Energy to construct transmission lines for 300 MW of solar projects each in Rajasthan.

In June 2019, Ayana Renewable won bids to develop 300 MW of solar capacity at a tariff of ₹2.54(~$0.0366)/kWh in the Solar Energy Corporation of India’s (SECI) auction for 1.2 GW of interstate transmission system-connected (ISTS) solar projects.

Avaada has won bids to develop 50 MW of projects in SECI’s auction of 1.2 GW of ISTS-connected solar projects and 300 MW in SECI’s ISTS-VI auction.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Project Tracker, Avaada Energy has 500 MW of operational solar capacity, with 1.9 GW of projects in the pipeline as of September 2020, while Ayana Renewable has 1.1 GW of projects in the pipeline.

Recently, Power Grid Corporation of India, a state-owned power transmission company, bagged three power transmission projects in Rajasthan through competitive bidding. These are built to evacuate 8.1 GW of power from solar energy zones in the state.

Harsh Shukla is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Previously with Indian Express, he has covered general interest stories. He holds a Masters Degree in Journalism from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune.

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