The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has auctioned 2 GW of Interstate Transmission System (ISTS)-connected wind power projects under Tranche-IV. These projects can be developed anywhere in the country.

The capacity was tendered by SECI in February 2018.

A SECI official confirmed to Mercom that the lowest (L1) tariff quoted by the bidders stood at ₹2.51 (~$0.0386)/kWh. In all, six bidders quoted the L1 tariff to win 1,435 MW of project capacity. The tariffs quoted in the auction ranged between a high of ₹2.67 (~$0.0411)/kWh and a low of ₹2.51 (~$0.0386)/kWh.When asked about the winners, the SECI official said, “Amongst the winning bidders, other than ReNew Wind Energy (TN) Private Limited, all the others will be awarded the capacities they bid for, per rules of competitive bidding.”

Srijan Energy Systems was the L1 bidder to develop 250 MW. Sprng Energy, BLP Energy, Betam Energy, INOX Wind, and Adani Green Energy quoted a tariff of ₹2.51 (~$0.0386)/kWh to develop 300 MW, 285 MW, 200 MW, 100 MW, and 300 MW respectively.

Mytrah Energy quoted a tariff of ₹2.52 (~$0.0388)/kWh to develop 300 MW. ReNew Wind Energy (TN) Private Limited too quoted a tariff of ₹2.52 (~$0.0388)/kWh to develop 300 MW but was awarded 265 MW.

When asked about how long it will take for the PPAs to be signed, the SECI official said, “The letters of award (LoAs) will be issued soon, and power purchase agreements (PPAs) between successful bidders and SECI will be signed two months after the award of LoA.”

Overall, out of the 2 GW tendered, SECI was able to auction 1,435 MW at a tariff of ₹2.51 (~$0.0386)/kWh. The L1 tariff quoted in this auction is 3.3 percent more than the lowest ever wind tariff of ₹2.43 (~$0.0373)/kWh. At the same time, the L1 tariff quoted in this auction is 2.9 percent more than the L1 tariff quoted in SECI’s Tranche-III wind auction.  SECI had tendered 2 GW of ISTS-connected wind projects under Tranche-III in December 2017.“Though it is not a direct comparison, recent wind auctions have come in consistently lower than the solar auctions. If a safeguard duty on solar components is imposed, the difference in tariffs will be even more pronounced,” said Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group.

In October 2017, Mercom reported that the wind power tariff dropped below ₹3 (~$0.05)/kWh for the first time with the lowest winning bid of ₹2.64 (~$0.0413)/kWh quoted in the second 1 GW wind auction conducted by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), which was tendered in June 2017.

In a recent interview with Mercom, P. Vinay Kumar, the chief operating officer (COO) of Greenko Group, had commented that “the wind tariffs that have been discovered in recent bids have a lot to do with the high yield of the sites that have been chosen for bidding. The bidding paradigm concentrates capacity in high yield sites to the detriment of low yield sites. Therefore, in a way, the wind sector is bouncing back and finding a new equilibrium and a new average.”