Coal India to set up 600 MW solar plants in 4 states

State-run mining major Coal India will develop solar power plants of 600 MW capacity in four states, including West Bengal and Maharashtra, under the second phase of its plan to set up a total 1,000 MW green energy plants.

The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has already floated tenders for development of solar capacity in the second phase.

Coal India has signed an agreement with SECI for setting up of solar power plants of total 1000 MW capacity in different parts of the country.

"In the first phase, CIL is going to set up 2x100 MW solar power plants in the state of Madhya Pradesh. In the second phase CIL is going to develop a capacity of 600 MW in the solar parks of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Maharashtra for which NIT has already been floated by SECI," the coal major said in its annual report.

To promote green initiatives of the government, CIL has submitted Green Energy Commitment letter to Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) for developing 1000 MW solar power projects during 2014-19, it said.

CIL's initiatives has resulted in installation of 2.0 MW capacity, 0.19 MW capacity, and 0.14 MW solar PV power plants in MCL (Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd)--a CIL arm, Burla, CMPDIL, Ranchi and CIL HQ at Kolkata respectively, it added.