The 750 MW Rewa Ultra Mega Solar powers 60% of Delhi Metro’s daytime energy requirements and sells 24% of its power output to it. It allows 290 trains and 26 lakh people to travel 373 km every day.

Its 35 lakh solar panels occupy an area of over 58 Narendra Modi Stadiums. Altogether, this solar park helps in reducing CO2 emissions by 15 lakh tons every year.

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Quick Facts About Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Power Plant

Here are some quick facts about Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Power Plant:

Location	Gurh tehsil, Rewa district, Madhya Pradesh.
Capacity	750 MW of Solar Power
Area	1500 hectare
Number of Solar Panels	35 lakh
Implementing Agency	Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Limited (RUMSL)
Gujarat Solar Park Cost	Rs. 4,380 crore
Date of Full-Capacity Commissioning	3 January 2020

Here’s the World Bank’s video on this solar park:

Background of Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Power Plant

India is the 3rd biggest producer and consumer of electricity globally. As of June 2024, India’s installed power generation capacity is 446 GW. (You can check the latest data from the official website).

At the time of developing the Rewa Solar Project, India aimed to achieve 175 GW of renewable energy by 2022. Currently, India aims to generate 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030. To cut down dependence on non-renewable energy and harness solar energy, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy launched the scheme for “Development of Solar Parks and Ultra-Mega Solar Power Projects” in December 2014.

Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Park has been developed under this scheme. By harnessing solar energy, it provides affordable and pollution-free electricity to the country.

Location of Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Power Plant

Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Power Park is located in Gurh tehsil, Rewa district, Madhya Pradesh. Some of the government land was previously used as a firing range by the Indian Army.

Here is how you can go to Rewa Solar Park:

Means of Connectivity	Nearest Transportation Landmark	Distance from Solar Park
Rail	Rewa Railway Station	40 km
Road	NH 39	Passes through Rewa Solar Park
Air	Prayagraj Airport	145 km

You can find Rewa Solar Park on Google Maps below:

Why was Rewa Selected for the Solar Power Plant?

As per the Environmental and Social Assessment (ESA) Report, Rewa receives an average solar radiation of 5.51 kWh/m2/day. This makes it an excellent choice for generating solar electricity.

Ease of land procurement is the other reason for selecting Rewa. The 750 MW Rewa Solar Project site comprises a barren, rocky wasteland. It has limited potential for agriculture, thus villagers were easily convinced to sell their land for the solar park.

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Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Limited (RUMSL) is the Solar Power Park Developer (SPPD) for the Rewa Ultra Mega Solar. RUMSL was formed in 2015. It is a joint venture of Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (MPUVN) and Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).

When Rewa Solar Power Plant was auctioned, it received 20 bids adding up to 7,500 MW, 10 times the capacity being auctioned. It was the first time international bidders were part of state-level auctions.

In the end, three bidders got to develop 250 MW each at the Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Power Park. They are:

Mahindra Renewables
ACME Jaipur Solar Power
Arinsun Clean Energy

What is the Cost of Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Power Plant?

The total cost of building the 750 MW Rewa solar project, excluding cost contingency and interest during construction, is Rs. 4,380 crore. Here’s the cost breakdown:

Investment component	Initial Cost	Taxes and duties	Total Cost
Shared infrastructure	Rs. 211.7 Cr	Rs. 92.6 Cr	Rs. 304.3 Cr
Transmission	Rs. 205.1 Cr	Rs. 86 Cr	Rs. 291.1 Cr
PV Generation	Rs. 3288.6 Cr	Rs. 496.2 Cr	Rs. 3785 Cr
Total	Rs. 3705.4 Cr	Rs. 674.8 Cr	Rs. 4380.4 Cr

The Central government provided Rs. 138 crore to RUMSL for the project. We will discuss below the World Bank’s contribution to the project in the section “Role of World Bank in Developing Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Power Plant”.

Who Procures Power from Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Plant?

76% of power from Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Park is sold to Madhya Pradesh Power Management Company Limited (MPPMCL) and 24% to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). Here’s a video showing the benefits of the park for Delhi Metro:

The creditworthiness of off-takers was an important consideration. While DMRC was profitable and rated AA+ by CRISIL, MPPMCL was “operationally inefficient and subsidy dependent” in the words of the World Bank. Ultimately, MPPMCL received an A rating from CARE due to a guarantee from the Madhya Pradesh government.

Role of World Bank in Developing Rewa Solar Power Plant

The World Bank supported Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Park under the “Shared Infrastructure for Solar Parks Project”.

Under the Clean Technology Fund, the World Bank provided a loan of Rs. 119 crore. This helped RUMSL get private investments worth Rs. 3,804.77 crore. Out of this, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, mobilised Rs. 1,522 crore.

The IFC was the transaction adviser for the project. It recommended developing the park as a public-private partnership (PPP). The World Bank’s involvement ensured that the best global standards were followed in the development of the solar park.

How Much Land Was Acquired for Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Power Plant?

A total of 1500 hectares was acquired for developing the Rewa Solar Power Plant. Out of this, 1232.7 hectares was government land and 302.8 hectares was private land. No forest land was acquired for the project.

Details of private land acquired are as follows:

Village Name	Area Acquired
Badwar	89.7 Hectares
Barsaita Desh	112.4 Hectares
Barsaita Pahad	14.6 Hectares
Etar Pahad	15.5 Hectares
Ramnagar Pahad	70.6 Hectares
Total	302.8 Hectares

Recognition for the Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Park

Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Power Project won the World Bank Group President’s Award for Innovation and Excellence. It was also mentioned in “A Book of Innovation: New Beginnings” unveiled by PM Modi.

Revenue Model of Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Power Plant

In return for letting developers use the solar park for free for 25 years, RUMSL planned to earn Rs. 290 crore from each unit, totalling up to Rs. 850 to 870 crore. This would amount to Rs. 30 crore every year. (Source: ScienceDirect)

The 750 MW Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Park was the 1st solar project in India to break the grid parity barrier. It means that its tariff became comparable to that of coal-based power.

In comparison to the then-lowest solar project tariff of Rs. 4.34/unit, it achieved a historic low tariff of Rs. 2.97/unit. The tariff would escalate by Rs. 0.05/unit over 15 years, resulting in a tariff of Rs. 3.30/unit over 25 years.

1. Payment Security Mechanism

To give confidence to developers, it was necessary to ensure that they get paid for the power they produce and don’t suffer due to any default by procurers.

For MPPMCL’s Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), RUMSL provided a letter of credit for 1 month’s payment and a payment security fund with the Madhya Pradesh government’s guarantee covering any delay in payment by the MPPMCL.

For the DMRC PPA, the letter of credit is equal to 1.25 times the average 2-month payment.

2. Commissioning Timelines

From a developer’s perspective, a deadline for commissioning a project can become a headache due to uncertainties such as delays in getting land. If they can’t meet the deadline, they will face penalties.

To remove this burden, the commissioning timeline for Rewa Solar Project developers started only after they received 90% of the land. It helped them to easily plan the development and commissioning of the park, thus maintaining the timeline.

3. Waiver of Performance Bank Guarantee

At the time of the 750 MW Rewa Solar Project’s construction, developers at upcoming solar parks had to pay a Performance Bank Guarantee (PBG) of Rs. 3 lakh/MW to the implementing agency. But at Rewa Solar Park, there was no such requirement, improving tariffs by ~0.5 paisa/kWh.

4. Deemed Generation

RUMSL made a provision to compensate procurers if they couldn’t receive power due to grid unavailability for over 50 hours. On the other hand, if the procurers failed to procure the Guaranteed Energy Offtake, RUMSL would be compensated for it.

The result was assured offtake/gird availability of ~98.8%. It ensured that the power tariffs were lower by at least 15 paisa/kWh to 40 paisa/kWh.

What are the Lessons from Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Power Plant?

As per IFC, the following are the key lessons from Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Power Plant:

1. Balanced Risk Allocation is Better than Subsidies

Systematic risk mitigation is a better approach to reducing tariffs than subsidies. Rewa Solar Park is a good example of scarce public resources being used to leverage private investment effectively.

2. Managing Conflict of Interest

Multiple arms of the World Bank Group were involved in the Rewa Solar Project and it was crucial to mitigate any conflict of interest. Before the bidding, the World Bank and the IFC Transaction Advisory Department worked separately, and there was no involvement by the IFC investment team. Similar methods were followed after the bidding. It ensured there was no conflict of interest between different stakeholders within the World Bank Group.

3. Extensive Consultation

The IFC held consultations with stakeholders, including investors, bidders, procurers, and government agencies to ensure everyone was on the same page. It helped streamline the project agreements that were implemented after the auction.

4. Removal of Uncertainties

97% of the land was available on the auction date. RUMSL had organised multiple visits to the project site for potential bidders and provided detailed information on more than 90% of the land during the auction. Documents were often revised based on the comments of bidders. Concepts such as termination payments and deemed generation reduced the bid price by 20 paise.

Rewa Ultra Mega Solar was the 1st solar park in the country to break the grid parity barrier. It is the 1st time solar power is being sold across states under Open Access rules. It is among India’s largest solar parks, alongside the Bhadla, Khavda, and Pavagada Solar Parks. Rewa Solar Park is a classic example of how the public and private sectors can collaborate to mitigate risks and reduce reliance on subsidies.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the capacity of the Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Project?

Rewa Solar Project has a capacity of 750 MW.

Who procures power from the Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Park?

Rewa Solar Park sells 24% of its power to Delhi Metro and 76% of its power to Madhya Pradesh Power Management Company Ltd.

How did the World Bank help in building Rewa Solar Park?

World Bank provided loans, helped draw private investments, and ensured industry-leading practices were implemented in constructing the Rewa Solar Park.

When was the Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Power Plant fully commissioned?

Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Project was fully commissioned on 3 January 2020.

How Much Buyers Save From Rewa Solar Power Plant?

As per the World Bank, Delhi Metro will save over Rs. 793 crore on electricity and Madhya Pradesh will save over Rs. 2,051 crore over the next 25 years.

Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Limited (RUMSL): All You Should Know