Solar tariffs stabilise below Rs2.71/kWh at record 3 GW auction
14 Jul 2018
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Solar tariffs in India remained at record lows in the country’s largest auction of 3 gigawatts of projects, with the lowest bid at Rs2.44 per kWh, according to state-run Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).
SECI has auctioned 3 GW of interstate transmission system (ISTS)-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) in which ACME Solar Holdings Ltd emerged as the lowest (L1) bidder quoting a tariff of Rs2.44 per kWh to develop 600 MW.
The tariff of Rs2.44 a kilowatt-hour is the record low hit last May and then again in an auction earlier this month.
A SECI official confirmed the culmination of the 3 GW auction and said, “We were expecting tariffs to go below ?2.44/kWh mark, but then no one can predict what will happen. Within a week, there have been so many fluctuations in tariffs.”
The tariffs quoted in this auction ranged between a high of Rs2.90per kWh and a low of Rs2.44 per kWh - a Rs0.46/kWh difference between the lowest and highest bid.
Azure Power bid for 300 MW quoting a tariff of Rs2.64 per kWh and emerged as the L2 bidder.
Canadian solar firm Rutherford Solar Farms quoted a tariff of Rs2.70 per kWh to develop 200 MW. Adani Green and ReNew Power quoted a tariff of Rs2.71 per kWh to develop 300 MW and 500 MW, respectively.
SBE Renewables (SoftBank) also quoted a tariff of Rs2.71 per kWh to develop 1,800 MW but was awarded 1,100 MW. The 1,100 MW project won by SoftBank is the single largest capacity bid in India to date in a reverse auction.
