Astonfield and BELECTRIC Team Up to Realize 5MW Solar Power Plant in Rajasthan, India

    NEW DELHI, INDIA, May 12, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Astonfield Renewable Resources and Belectric are pleased to announce that they have entered into an agreement for the execution of Astonfield's 5MW solar power plant in Osiyan, Rajasthan. The Osiyan project is one of several Astonfield plants expected to be approved under the Migration Phase of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission and will be Astonfield's first solar power plant to be commissioned and come online in FY2010-11. Belectric has already completed site designs and engineering on the plant. The construction will begin immediately following Migration approval.

Belectric is one of the largest photovoltaic (PV) system integrators in the world, with over 75 commissioned power plants in Europe to date. In addition to plant design, construction and commissioning, Belectric will also provide operations and maintenance (O&M) services for the plant. The Osiyan power plant will be the first utility-scale solar power plant commissioned by Belectric under India's National Solar Mission. The 5MW solar power plant located in the Jodhpur District of Rajasthan will sit on 30 acres of land. A total of 185 acres has been secured under a long-term lease to allow for an additional 20MW build out in the future. The Osiyan plant is expected to bring over a hundred jobs to the local community and has the capacity to power approximately 13,000 homes.

"Consistent with our strategy to partner with global technology leaders, Astonfield has formalized a tie-up with Belectric to build one of the first utility-scale projects under India's National Solar Mission. We look forward to working with Belectric in commissioning this first 5MW PV plant in Rajasthan, which will serve as a foundational project in our partnership and in the build out of India's solar industry," stated Ameet Shah, Co-Chairman of Astonfield.

"India has become one of the most promising solar markets in the world today, and Astonfield has been a catalyst in the market's development. The partnership between Belectric and Astonfield will play a key role in the fulfillment of India's solar potential under the National Solar Mission," commented Bernhard Beck, CEO of Belectric.

About Belectric:
Belectric aims to apply leading engineering and execution capabilities to provide grid parity with climate-friendly photovoltaic solutions. Belectric has executed over 75 large-scale PV projects in Europe with its affiliates like Beck Energy, Germany. Many of them are among the largest thin-film projects commissioned globally to-date. Belectric's strategic partnerships with leading solar module and BoS manufacturers and its in-house engineering and standardization of solar power plants allows it to continuously drive down system costs. For more information visit http://www.belectric.com.

About Astonfield Renewable Resources:
Astonfield Renewable Resources is the largest multi-modality renewable energy company in South Asia. With a portfolio of nearly 1,000MW of solar, biomass and waste-to-energy projects, Astonfield is deploying affordable clean energy solutions in emerging markets across the world. For more information visit http://www.astonfield.com.

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