An Indian subsidiary of a Paris-based renewable energy firm has officially unveiled its first project in India.

The 5.6MW solar park in the northwest state of Rajasthan is expected to generate 9,000MWh of electricity every year, enough to power around 20,000 Indian households.

The project is part of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) and Solairedirect Energy India won the bid in the last round in December 2011.

Theirry Lepercq, Chairman of Solairedirect Group said: “We are showing that solar power can make a serious contribution in addressing this country’s pressing energy needs with equipment manufactured in India.”

The news follows a number of protests in India recently due to a series of power cuts in different parts of the country.

Solar installations in India have been driven by the JNNSM, with the goal to install 20,000MW of solar power by 2022.