Lowest (L1) tariff of ₹2.59 (~$0.0372)/kWh was quoted in the auction held by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) to develop 2 GW of interstate transmission system (ISTS)-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) projects.

ACME Solar quoted the lowest (L1) tariff of ₹ 2.59 (~$0.0372)/kWh to develop 600 MW. Shapoorji Pallonji and Azure Power matched the L1 tariff to develop 500 MW and 300 MW respectively.

SB Energy, which had placed the bid for 2,000 MW, managed to win only 600 MW at a bid of 2.60 (~$0.0373)/kWh.

“Bidding continues to be aggressive and this tariff will set a precedent going forward for other auctions coming up post safeguard duty imposition. However, this is a NTPC project that can be built in any high insolation location. Not to mention, there is at least 18 months to start procurement ,” said Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group.

The tariffs quoted in this auction are 5 percent lower than the tariffs quoted in the NTPC’s 750 MW of solar projects in Ananthapuramu solar park.

 

A source at another winner, SB Energy said “We broadly added 10 percent to the initial tariff we had quoted as safeguard cost. This is still a very aggressive tariff. We had to stop here as there would be no end to it. We think there could be a 10-15 percent safeguard duty impact unless there is another extension to the implementation time period.”

NTPC had tendered the capacity in March 2018. Later, Indian solar project developers complained to the MNRE that the maximum allowable capacity to be bid for in this tender was too large. The domestic developers reasoned, “Such a large bid size will prohibit some of the serious players based on financial criteria such as net worth requirement, turnover requirement, line of credit etc. Restricted competition may not provide the desired tariff levels.”

Following the imposition of safeguard duty, in a positive development for the developers, NTPC had provided bidders until August 13, 2018, to revise and resubmit their bids for the 2 GW interstate transmission system (ISTS)-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) tender.

NTPC’s 2 GW ISTS-connected solar PV tender was oversubscribed three times over. Bids amounting to 6,200 MW were submitted in response to the tender.

According to Mercom Solar Tender Tracker, over 30 GW of solar projects have been tendered in the first half of calendar year.

 

Nitin is a staff reporter at Mercomindia.com and writes on renewable energy and related sectors. Prior to Mercom, Nitin has worked for CNN IBN, India News, Agricultural Spectrum and Bureaucracy Today. He received his bachelor’s degree in Journalism & Communication from Manipal Institute of Communication at Manipal University and Master’s degree in International Relations from Jindal School of International Affairs. More articles from Nitin Kabeer