AREVA Solar has been awarded a contract by the Indian group Reliance Power Limited to build a 250 megawatt (MW) concentrated solar power (CSP) installation in India, which will become the largest in all of Asia. The project will help advance India's goal of adding 20,000 MW of solar energy by 2022 and will result in the avoidance of approximately 557,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year compared to a similar sized coal-fired power plant.

Under the contract, AREVA will build two 125 MW CSP plants using its Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector (CLFR) technology and will provide construction management services for the project. The first phase of the project is under construction, with a target commercial operation date of May 2013. The solar power plants will be located in Rajasthan.

J P Chalasani, CEO of Reliance Power, stated: "Reliance Power is proud to be a leader in India's clean energy future. Today's announcement is just the beginning. We look forward to working with AREVA Solar in helping meet India's clean energy goals through this project."

AREVA CEO Luc Oursel stated: "AREVA is delighted to help deliver on the promise of India's progressive solar energy goals and to advance Reliance's bold vision for a global clean energy portfolio. We will leverage our best-in-class experience to help make India and Reliance global solar industry leaders. Following our success in the French wind offshore sector, this contract reinforces the AREVA strategy in renewable energies."

The Reliance contract solidifies AREVA Solar's position as a leading global supplier of CSP solutions for large-scale standalone power plants, power augmentation of fossil-fired power plants and solar hybrid applications, and follows on a series of successes. This project also further strengthens and diversifies AREVA's low-carbon energy hub in India.

In Australia, AREVA Solar was awarded a contract to build a 44 MW solar thermal addition to the coal-fired Kogan Creek power station, and its energy consortium was selected as the preferred bidder for a 250 MW CLFR power plant under Australia's Solar Flagships Program. And in the USA, AREVA Solar recently announced a partnership with Tucson Electric Power on a solar augmentation project in Arizona.

In total, AREVA Solar currently has more than 500 MW of CSP projects in operation, under construction or in advanced development, making AREVA one the fastest-growing CSP technology providers.

AREVA supplies solutions for power generation with less carbon. Its expertise and unwavering insistence on safety, security, transparency and ethics are setting the standard, and its responsible development is anchored in a process of continuous improvement.

Ranked first in the global nuclear power industry, AREVA's unique integrated offering to utilities covers every stage of the fuel cycle, nuclear reactor design and construction, and related services. The group is also expanding in renewable energies - wind, solar, bioenergies, hydrogen and storage - to be one of the top three in this sector worldwide in 2012.

With these two major offers, AREVA's 48,000 employees are helping to supply ever safer, cleaner and more economical energy to the greatest number of people.