The latest auction by nodal agency Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for solar power projects in Rajasthan has attracted all-time low tariffs of Rs.2 per unit.
SECI had put on auction 1,070 mw of grid-tied solar power capacity where bidders could bid for anything from 10 mw to 1,070 mw. The projects, to be developed on build-own-operate (BOO) basis, should be interconnected with the nearest substation of the state transmission utility (STU) at a voltage level of at least 33kV.
According to information available from reliable sources, the record low tariff of Rs.2 per unit was quoted by Saudi Arabia-based Al Jomaih Energy & Water, as well as Green Infra Wind Energy, a subsidiary of Singapore-based Sembcorp.
NTPC quoted Rs.2.01 per unit while Sprng Ujjvala Energy Pvt Ltd submitted a bid of Rs.2.02 per unit. Central PSU SJVN Ltd came up with a bid of Rs.2.07 per unit.
The previous record low solar tariff was Rs.2.36 per unit witnessed in a pan-India solar auction in June this year.
The capacity bid for, and that allotted by SECI in this Rajasthan auction is summarized in the table alongside.
According to Mercom, Rajasthan had about 5.2 GW of large-scale solar projects in operation, and another 8.5 GW under development, as of September 2020.
An interesting feature of this Rajasthan auction was that SECI had already identified the buyer of electricity generated from the proposed 1,070 mw of solar capacity. This, according to industry sources, was a key factor for the aggressive bidding.
India currently has around 89 GW of renewable energy-based power generation capacity. This is pledged to increase to 175 GW by end of 2022. Currently, around 35 GW of renewable capacity is under construction and another 30 GW is under various states of bidding.
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