Altered VGF funding heightens developer interest in 160MW Gujarat auction

June 28, 2016
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
The Charanka solar park already has commissioned capacity from the likes of SunEdison. Credit: SunEdison

Capacity for a solar park in the Indian state of Gujarat has been awarded to four companies in the latest National Solar Mission (NSM) auction after changes to viability gap funding (VGF) funding garnered more interest from developers.

The results for the 160MW up for grabs at the Charanka Solar Park, handed out by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) were as follows:

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

The results of the Gujarat auction. Credit: Mercom Capital Group

The VGF, a financial support mechanism from the government, was altered for this particular bid.

Previous projects involving the VGF funding in NSM, Phase II, Batch III, were to have the VGF dispersed in six tranches, starting with 50% at the commissioning of the project, followed by 10% in each of the subsequent five years.

However, in Batch IV, 100% of the VGF will be dispersed to the developer on the commissioning of the plant. Meanwhile, SECI also obtains a bank guarantee for 20% of the VGF amount.

Mudit Jain, consultant at Bridge to India, told PV Tech: “This Gujarat tender was initially launched under the Phase III, but it subsequently moved to Phase VI because there was not enough developers interest. [This] was more to do with the cost of the solar park.

“The cost of solar park is very high in Gujarat. It is perhaps the highest in India. So that is the reason for shifting to Phase VI to improve the project viability by a bit more.”

While some solar park developments across India have helped drive the record low soalr bids in recent months, such as in Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh, the solar park policy also been cited in some cases as actually more expense for developers.

Read Next

October 16, 2025
Jakson Green and Blueleaf Energy have reached financial close for the 840MWp Bikaner solar projects in Rajasthan, western India. 
October 15, 2025
Wood Mackenzie has warned of a supply bottleneck as the renewable energy shift drives a spike in global copper demand over the next decade.
October 15, 2025
Ciel & Terre has launched a new floating PV structure designed to address the increasingly large scale of floating solar projects.
October 15, 2025
Indian module manufacturer Saatvik Green Energy, through its subsidiary Saatvik Solar Industries, has secured solar PV module orders worth INR6.89 billion (US$78 million).
October 14, 2025
India has installed 4.9GW of residential rooftop solar capacity in the first half of 2025, according to a report by IEEFA and JMK Research.
October 10, 2025
NTPC Renewable Energy Limited has signed an MoU with the Government of Gujarat to develop 15GW renewable energy projects in Gujarat.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 21, 2025
New York, USA
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK