In its latest auction for 1,170 MW of solar power, state-run NTPC Limited has discovered a tariff of Rs 2.43 ($0.0325) per kWh. O2 Power, jointly backed by Sweden’s EQT Infrastructure and Singapore-based Temasek, emerged as the winner at the lowest tariff and has been allocated 400 MW of capacity. Other winners who matched the lowest tariff of Rs 2.43 per kWh include New York Stock Exchange listed, Azure Power, and Tata Power winning 300 MW and 370 MW respectively. At Rs 2.44 ($0.0327)/kWh, Canada-based Amp Energy won 100 MW of solar capacity.
NTPC Limited had issued this tender for 1,200 MW capacity of interstate transmission system (ISTS) connected solar projects in February 2020 with a ceiling tariff of Rs 2.78 ($0.037) per kWh. The initial bid submission deadline for this tender March 19, 2020 but it was extended three times and finally it was oversubscribed by 500 MW. However, only 80 per cent of the tender capacity has been auctioned due to some bids not passing through technical evaluation.
This latest auction tariff in India comes on the heels of the record low bid of Rs 2.36 ($0.0313) per kWh discovered in Solar Energy Corporation of India’s (SECI’s) 2,000 MW solar auction in June 2020. This is the second lowest solar tariff discovered in India till date, even lower than Rs 2.44 ($0.0327) per kWh tariff discovered in SECI’s July 2018 auction.