In the month of April 2017, only 26.72 MW of solar was tendered and 250 MW was auctioned in India compared to March 2017, when 4.5 MW of new solar was tendered; 1,000 MW was re-tendered by NTPC and 47.5 MW was auctioned.

Mercom previously reported, tendering activity has generally slowed down in the solar sector.

There were three solar rooftop tenders. The Himachal Pradesh Energy Development Agency (HIMURJA) tendered 1.1 MW of rooftop solar in Himachal Pradesh. The Central Electronics Limited (CEL) tendered 3.22 MW of grid-connected rooftop solar to be installed at railway workshops of the Northern Railway across Indian states. The New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (NREDCAP) tendered 2.4 MW of solar rooftop to be developed under RESCO mode.

In utility-scale tenders, Meham Sugar Mills in Haryana tendered a 20 MW solar project to be developed on a build, own, operate and transfer basis.

There was one auction in the month of April with bids received for a 250 MW solar project at Kadapa Solar Park in Andhra Pradesh under the JNNSM Phase-II, Batch 2. The auction saw tariffs in India reach an all-time low, with Solairedirect quoting Rs.3.15 (~$0.048)/kWh.

Separately, the electricity department of the Union Territory of Puducherry invited an Expression of Interest (EoI) for 30 MW of solar.

The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has amended the tender document pertaining to 1,000 MW solar rooftop to be auctioned for government buildings, reducing the capacity to 500 MW.

The state government of Madhya Pradesh entered into project agreements with ACME Solar, Solenergi Power, and Mahindra Renewables on April 17, 2017, to develop the 750 MW Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Park. Project developers signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) with the Madhya Pradesh Power Management Corporation Ltd. (MPPMCL) and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) for these projects.

The SECI received technical bids totaling more than 8,500 MW on tendered capacity of 750 MW at the Bhadla Solar Park in Rajasthan. The tender was oversubscribed by 12 times, highlighting the voracious appetite of developers in India to win large-scale solar projects.

According to the recently released ‘Q1 2017 India Solar Market Update’ by Mercom Communications India, there are approximately 6.4 GW of tenders pending auction.