MILAN- Italy's biggest utility Enel said on Tuesday it had won its first photovoltaic tender in India and would be spending around $180 million to build its first solar plant in the country.

In a statement, the group said its green energy unit had won the right to sign a 25-year energy supply contract for a 420 megawatt (MW) solar project in the State of Rajasthan.

"India represents an important market in a strategic geography for our company, as it boasts a wealth of renewable resources and a highly competitive environment coupled with growing energy demand," the CEO of Enel Green Power Antonio Cammisecra said.

Enel Green Power, through EGP India, owns and operates 172 MW of wind capacity in India.

(Reporting by Stephen Jewkes; editing by Agnieszka Flak) ((stephen.jewkes@thomsonreuters.com; +39.0266129695; Reuters Messaging: stephen.jewkes.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))