UPDATED: Winning bids in a 550MW solar auction in Uttar Pradesh, India, have come out between INR 3.02-3.08/kWh (US$0.0429-0.0437), a notable drop from 3.17-3.23 rupees in its most recent 500MW auction in October.
Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA) saw the lowest bid come in from India's largest distribution company NTPC, which has only recently tried its hand in PV auctions in India.
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The results were as follows:
| Bidder | Tariff (INR/kWh) | Capacity (MW) |
|---|---|---|
| NTPC | 3.02 | 85 |
| Bastille Solar (EDF) | 3.04 | 70 |
| Bastille Solar | 3.07 | 70 |
| Giriraj Renewables (Avaada) | 3.07 | 100 |
| Mahoba Solar (Adani) | 3.07 | 50 |
| Tata Power Renewable Energy | 3.07 | 50 |
| Jakson Power | 3.07 | 50 |
| Tata Power Renewable Energy | 3.08 | 50 |
| Mahoba Solar | 3.08 | 25 (bid for 50) |
Other bidders that missed out on capacity included Vijay Printing Press and Sukhbir Agro, while Mahoba Solar (Adani) put in several other unsuccessful bids.
Vinay Rustagi, managing director of Bridge to India, told PV Tech: “The list of winners is very similar to the last tender just two months ago. Most of these are Indian developers apart from EDF. The fall can be largely explained by a continued fall in the module prices which are expected to remain soft going well into the next year and so the tariff fall is understandable.
“UP has one of the worst rated Discoms in the country, but what we increasingly see is that many of the developers, particularly the Indian developers, seem to be quite happy with the offtake risk of Uttar Pradesh and it's hard to tell whether it is just a case of getting comfortable with the offtake risk or whether, because the pipeline is being so erratic and building new capacities is becoming more difficult, the developers have just decided that even if they can bag some capacity in the UP tender, so be it.”
In November, UPNEDA issued a request for selection (RfP) for a 200MW solar park to be awarded through competitive bidding.
Updated to include comment from Bridge to India.