On July 10, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 750 MW solar project in Rewa in Madhya Pradesh through video-conferencing. On this occasion, PM Modi claimed that the Rewa Ultra Mega Solar project in Madhya Pradesh is the largest in Asia.

Many other BJP leaders including Amit Shah, tweeted about the Rewa project with the same claim that it is the largest in Asia.

However, following these tweets, the comments section was flooded with claims that the Rewa Ultra Mega Solar project is not the largest in Asia. 

We also received a request to check the veracity of the claim that is Rewa Ultra Mega Solar project is not the largest in Asia?

The truth behind the claim

In our research, we found that the Rewa Ultra Mega Solar project is not the largest in Asia. 

A report by the Indian Express cited data from Bloomberg New Energy Finance, according to which, there are nine solar plants that are bigger than the one at Rewa.

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee chief D.K. Shivakumar refuted the claim. Shivakumar wrote, "The BJP-led Central government is claiming today that it has inaugurated Asia's Largest Solar Plant of 750MW at Rewa, MP. Now, what is the 2,000MW solar plant in Pavagada, Karnataka, which was built in just 3 years by @INCKarnataka govt and has been operational since 2018?."

On January 19, 2020, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal had tweeted that the Pavagada was the "World's largest solar park." His tweet reads, "India Takes Lead in Clean Energy: World's largest solar park at Pavagada in Karnataka is now operational. Generating 2050MW of clean energy, the park is located on land leased from farmers, utilizing the drought-hit area & adding to farmers' income." 

According to the Government of Karnataka website, the site area of the park is 13,000 acres (53 km2). As of June 11, 2020, the total Power Generation in the park is 600 MW (Operational Units), and 1,400 MW (Under Construction).

The website reads, "The project has been executed within 2 years but it has not been without its setbacks. NTPC Ltd was initially supposed to buy 600MW of power and supply them to the state electricity supply companies at a reduced cost but backed out a month before the project was inaugurated. Auctions for developing 1,200 MW capacity also had to be postponed and legal complications have set back the development of another 860MW."

Rewa Ultra Mega Solar is one of the largest single-site solar power plants in India, however, it is not the largest in Asia.

According to the Government of Madhya Pradesh website, Rewa Ultra Mega Solar is an operational solar park spread over an area of 1,590 acres (6.4 km2) in the Gurh tehsil of Rewa district of Madhya Pradesh.

The project was commissioned with 750 MW capacity in July 2018. Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Limited (RUMSL), the implementing agency of the project, is a joint venture between the Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikash Nigam Limited (MPUVNL) and the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). The plant consists of three solar power generating units that are located on a 500-hectare plot of land inside a 1,500-hectare solar park.

Solar plants larger than Rewa Ultra Mega Solar in Asia includes Bhadla Solar Park in Rajasthan's Jodhpur district with a capacity of 2,250 megawatts (MW) and Shakti Sthala solar power project in Pavagada taluk, Tumakuru district, Karnataka with a capacity of  2,050MW. 

In conclusion, the claim of BJP leaders that newly inaugurated Rewa Ultra Mega Solar is the largest solar power plant in Asia is false.