SECI’s 1,785 MW Solar Auction Gets 2021 2nd Lowest Tariff of Rs 2.17/kWh

(EPT): The auction conducted by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for 1,785 MW of Solar Projects (Tranche IV) in Rajasthan has received the year 2021’s second-lowest solar tariff of Rs 2.17/kWh.

The final winners list has a mix of PSU, private and foreign forms in it, with NTPC Renewable Energy  leading with a capacity of 500 MW, Sprng Energy Natural Power Source  taking 200 MW, Calpine Subsico Solar Energy (an SPV of UPC Renewables) 90 MW, and Metka EGN Singapore Pte 20 MW.

The lowest tariff discovered in 2021 is Rs 2.14/kWh, which was pitched by bidders at the auction for 500 MW solar projects at Neemuch Solar park in Madhya Pradesh (MP) The tender for 1,785 MW solar projects was issued by SECI in March this year and deadline extensions were announced in the wake of the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic.

ReNew Solar Power won 600 MW at Rs 2.18, while ACME Solar, which had bid for the entire tender quantity of 1785 MW at Rs 2.18, finally got an allotment of  375 MW.

The 2020 record tariff of Rs 2.00 received by SECI at the 1070 MW Rajasthan solar auctions thus remains in place, and looks set to remain so through 2022 too finally, considering how prices have stayed stubbornly up and the impending duties that will add those pressure from April 2022.

The lowest solar tariff discovered by SECI in 2020 was Rs 2/kWh for 1,070 MW of solar projects in Rajasthan. The tariff was quoted by Al Jomaiah Energy and Water Company and Green Infra Wind Energy Limited, a subsidiary of Sembcorp.