Juniper Green Energy and Avaada Energy have won REC Power Development and Consultancy’s (RECPDCL) auction to set up 100 MW of inter-state transmission system (ISTS)-connected wind power projects in India.

Juniper won 50 MW, quoting ₹3.58 (~$0.0430)/ kWh. Avaada won the remaining 50 MW at ₹3.59 (~$0.0431)/ kWh.

The tender was floated in July.

The projects will be developed under the program for flexibility in the generation and scheduling of thermal/ hydropower stations by bundling with renewable energy and storage power notified by the Ministry of Power and on a build-own-operate basis.

The selected developers will also set up the dedicated transmission network to the interconnection or delivery point at their own cost. The minimum voltage for the interconnection at the ISTS must be 220 kV.

The projects must be commissioned within 18 months of signing the power purchase agreement.

If the thermal generator cannot replace the thermal power, the wind power can be sold in the exchanges by DVC as per the provisions of the flexibility program.

Already commissioned projects will not be considered under this tender. Projects under construction or not yet commissioned would be considered only if they are not accepted under other central or state programs.

Only commercially established and operational technologies can be used to minimize the technology risk and achieve timely commissioning of the projects. The wind turbine models used for the project must be listed in the Revised List of Models and Manufacturers issued by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

The project’s declared capacity utilization factor must not be less than 22%. The project developer must maintain the generation to achieve an annual CUF of not less than 80% and not more than 120% of the declared value during the PPA term.

Recently, Ministry of Power proposed slashing the renewable generation obligation for coal or lignite-based power generating stations to a minimum of 6-10% from the previous 40%.