Indian solar tariff record toppled again in Andhra Pradesh

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
The prices have for the second time breached the five US dollar cents mark in India. Flickr: Pranav

Indian solar tariffs reached yet another new low yesterday with the Indian arm of French clean energy firm Solairedirect winning 250MW(AC) of capacity in Andhra Pradesh with a record bid of INR3.15/kWh (US$0.0494).

The bid for capacity at the Kadapa Solar Park was for a straight tariff with no escalation, meaning it is lower than the ground-breaking levelised tariff of INR3.30/kWh achieved at the Rewa Solar Park in Madhya Pradesh in February.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

Notably, the prices have for the second time breached the five US dollar cents mark.

Jasmeet Khurana, associate director, consulting at Bridge to India told PV Tech that the tariff was very aggressive as it was “one of the last few tenders with [utility] NTPC as an off-taker for the current round”.

He added that while there are still some NTPC tender plans in Rajasthan and other states, many companies are “desperate” and will probably now have to wait a long time to get a similar project.

As India’s largest utility, NTPC is well known as the most bankable off-taker for solar projects in India, which has historically helped to bring tariffs down across all its tenders and has led to fiercely competitive auctions.

Analysts have noted a significant slowdown in tender allocations of late, partly due to states reworking their tender parameters to imitate the unique qualities of the Rewa tender, such as a state government off-take payment guarantee.

In the latest auction, only Solairedirect came out with any awarded capacity and New Delhi-based Ostro Energy was the only other bidder also willing to go below the levels set at Rewa. The lowest bidders were as follows:

Developer Tariff (INR/kWh)
Solairedirect Energy India 3.15
Ostro Energy 3.16
Canadian Solar 3.39
Greenko Energies 4.09
Azure Power 4.38
Mahoba Solar 4.54
Mahindra Renewables 4.68

NTPC has now awarded 3GW of solar projects under the National Solar Mission, phase II, batch II, tranche I.

While many industry members have concerns about project viability with the low tariffs seen in India, Finnish firm Fortum recently completed a 70MW plant in Rajasthan that once had the lowest tariff in India, perhaps putting some fears to rest.

As of 31 March 2017, India had 12,288MW of solar PV installed according to energy minister Piyush Goyal. Out of this Andhra Pradesh has the most installed of any state with just over 1,867MW.
 

Read Next

October 2, 2025
The Indian solar industry has 86GW and 182GW of solar cell and module manufacturing capacity, respectively, expected to be commissioned by 2027.
October 2, 2025
The Indian Department of Commerce has launched an antidumping investigation on solar encapsulants originating or exported from South Korea, Vietnam and Thailand.
September 29, 2025
Indian solar manufacturer Waaree has said it does not expect to pay additional duties on its solar cell imports to the US, following the start of an antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) investigation by the US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP).
September 26, 2025
The Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has added 4.8GW of annual solar cell nameplate capacity to its Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) List-II.
September 25, 2025
Inox Solar has started the first phase of commercial operations at a module manufacturing plant in Bavla, India.
September 24, 2025
The development of India’s power transmission network is lagging behind the country’s rapid growth in renewable energy, leading to project delays and cost increases

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
Solar Media Events
October 21, 2025
New York, USA
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland