Bhadla village on the fringes of the Thar Desert about 200 km from Rajasthan's famed Jodhpur city is the heart of India's clean energy push, home to the Bhadla Solar Park.
A recent auction of solar power to be generated at a new 250 megawatt plant was recently auctioned for just about Rs. 2.62 for every unit, or kilowatt-hour. This would be among India's cheapest sources of power, certainly a lot cheaper than the average tariff of Rs. 3.2 per unit for coal-fired thermal units.
Once the solar park is fully operational it will generate 2,255 megawatts of power. That is a little more than one-third of the peak daily demand in the national capital of 6,000 MW, or for that matter, Rajasthan total demand for power.
Finnish company Fortum and South Africa's Phelan energy and Cleanteach are already investors in Bhadla.
But the park has done a lot more than breathe life in this part of the state. It is also creating opportunities for local businesses and employment for the youth that could bring about a huge turn around in the economy of this backward desert region.
