Daily News Wrap-Up: Rajasthan’s 8 GW Solar Tender
DISCOMs owe power generators ₹652.16 billion in dues for April 2024
May 6, 2024
Rajasthan Urja Vikas and IT Services has invited bids from developers to set up 8,000 MW solar power projects in the state. The last date for the submission of bids is June 24, 2024. Bids will open the same day. Bidders must submit ₹29,500 (~$353.75) as the cost of the document fee and ₹500,000 (~$5,996) + 18% GST as the bid processing fee.
State distribution companies owed power generators ₹652.16 billion (~$7.81 billion) in total dues for the monthly billing cycle in April 2024, according to the Ministry of Power’s payment ratification and analysis portal PRAAPTI. The dues for the March billing cycle amounted to ₹778.57 billion (~$9.32 billion). The current outstanding dues, excluding the latest monthly dues, are ₹239.93 billion (~$2.87 billion).
The Indian Energy Exchange traded 402 million units (MU) of green energy in April 2024, a 44% year-over-year (YoY) increase from 280 MU. The Exchange, in total, traded 9,044 MU of power in the month, marking a 14% YoY increase. During April, the Market Clearing Price in the Day Ahead Market decreased by approximately 6% compared to the previous year, reaching ₹5.1 (~$0.061)/kWh. Sell bids on the Exchange, including both the Day Ahead Market and Real-Time Market, saw a notable 21% YoY increase for the month.
Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) has decided to form a wholly-owned subsidiary to undertake low-carbon, clean, and green energy businesses with an equity investment of ₹13.04 billion (~$15.63 million). IOCL has committed itself to installing 1 GW of renewable energy projects, including standalone ground-mounted solar, standalone onshore wind, or wind-solar hybrid projects, at a cost of ₹52.15 billion (~$625.38 million).
Adani Green Energy has secured a $400 million green loan for its under-construction 750 MW solar power projects in Rajasthan and Gujarat from a consortium of five international banks. The consortium will provide financing for projects that will come online by November this year. The 500 MW project being developed in Rajasthan has a long-term power purchase agreement with the Solar Energy Corporation of India. The second project, with a capacity of 250 MW, is a standalone merchant power project implemented at Gujarat’s Khavada renewable energy cluster.
Renewable energy company Adani Green Energy generated revenue of ₹28.06 billion (~$336.29 million) in the fourth quarter of the financial year 2023-24, an increase of 4.89% year-over-year (YoY) from ₹26.75 (~$320.5 million). The company recorded a net profit of ₹3.1 billion (~$37.2 million), an increase of 21% YoY, compared to ₹2.56 billion (~$30.7 million).
Finland-based energy company Fortum said it is exiting the Indian solar power market after signing an agreement to sell its remaining 43.75% stake in a 185 MW solar portfolio to Gentari Renewables India, a subsidiary of Malaysia-based clean energy firm Gentari. The portfolio consists of four solar projects with a total capacity of 185 MW – a 5 MW Amrit project and 70 MW Bhadla project in Rajasthan, a 10 MW Kapeli project in Madhya Pradesh, and a 100 MW Pavagada plant in Karnataka.
A fire broke out at one of JinkoSolar’s silicon wafer slicing and solar cell manufacturing facilities in Shanxi Province, China, on April 26. While no casualties were reported, JinkoSolar stated that the incident could impact its operations and 2024 financial results. The solar manufacturer is shifting production across their other manufacturing sites to minimize disruptions to its supply chain. The Chinese solar manufacturer operates 14 production facilities globally, along with 26 overseas subsidiaries spanning North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America as of the end of 2023.
The European Commission has awarded approximately €720 million (~$772 million) to seven green hydrogen projects across Europe through the first competitive auction under the European Hydrogen Bank initiative. The winning projects were selected from 132 bids submitted from 17 European countries, totaling over €15 billion (~$16 billion) in requested 800 million budget funds – far exceeding the €800 million budget for this initial auction round. The tender for the projects was floated last November.