French Ambassador opens solar plant in Uttarakhand

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Dehradun: A solar power plant commissioned by a French firm with an outlay of 4 million euros was inaugurated by French Ambassador Alexandre Ziegler in a Uttarakhand village on Wednesday.

The plant strengths India`s ambitious plans to achieve optimum renewable energy targets.

The plant, built by Technique Solaire in Maheshwari village in Haridwar district, would generate 5.5 MWp, which is the equivalent of the local electricity consumption of 13,500 inhabitants.

"The project embodies the strength of Indo-French cooperation in the solar energy sector and the ability of French companies to deliver," a statement quoted Ziegler as saying.

"With a cumulative capacity of around 650 MW installed across India, French companies are committed towards becoming one of the major actors of the solar revolution going on in India," he said.

France actively supports India`s programme for developing renewable energy, which is a key tool in the common combat against climate change.

Several French companies are committed to contributing to the development of non-fossil fuel energies in India.

JLTM Energy India Pvt Ltd., the Indian subsidiary of Technique Solaire, was awarded the project, spread over 25 acres, in Maheshwari in October 2015.

The company has evolved a model that makes local farmers stakeholders in the project, providing them the added benefit of a yearly income from the plant.

With this first success, and the ambition of the Indian government to develop solar energy with a goal of 100 GW by 2022, Technique Solaire intends to develop more than 200 MWp of projects in India in two to three years.