By Elishya Perera
SINGAPORE (CWBN)_ Green Infra Wind Energy Limited of Singapore and Aljomaiah Energy and Water Company of Saudi Arabia placed the winning bids of ₹2 (US$0.027) per kWh for 1,070 MW of solar projects in Rajasthan, India.
The results of the auction conducted by state-run Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd (SECI) showed that the Singaporean company will operate a solar plant with a capacity of 400 MW, while the Saudi Arabian company won contracts for a 200 MW plant.
The SECI had received bids from 14 companies, of which eight of the quoted tariffs were below the previous record low of ₹2.36 (US$0.032) per kWh.
NTPC Limited of India quoted the second-lowest bid at ₹2.01 (~$0.0272)/kWh for 600 MW of projects, while Sprng Ujjvala Energy Private Limited, another Indian company, quoted ₹2.02 (~$0.0273)/kWh for 300 MW of projects.
The SECI announced the tender in July, for projects which are expected to be interconnected with the nearest substation of the state transmission utility (STU) at a voltage level of at least 33 kV.
India is the world’s third-largest greenhouse gas emitter, and has set a target to expand its renewable energy to 175 GW by 2022, from the current 90 GW.
It appears that foreign enterprises have taken the lead in placing aggressive bids for solar projects; during the last round, Spain’s Solarpack Corporación Tecnológica, S.A. placed the lowest bid for a 396 MW solar project, also in Rajasthan.
The SECI is the government agency awarding contracts for companies offering to supply electricity at the lowest price, with whom a power purchase agreement (PPA) will be signed.
Edited By Chathushka Perera
