Tender announcements in February 2020 fell nearly 58% from the previous month, with only about 1.7 GW of solar projects announced, according to Mercom India’s Solar Tender Tracker. This is a sharp decline from  January 2020, which saw over 4 GW of tenders.

The month also saw bid submission deadline extensions for 1.6 GW of issued tenders – a 1.2 GW solar-hybrid tender and a 400 MW round the clock supply tender. Both tenders were issued in January by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and were extended to March.

Capacity tendered in February 2020 was also down by over 61% from the same period last year.

Meanwhile, auction activity registered an even sharper fall in February 2020 compared to the previous month, with only about 1.4 GW of auctions compared to over 5.9 GW in January, an almost 76% decline. Activity during the month was also down nearly 48% compared to February 2018.

Major Tenders:

Here is a quick recap of the major tenders that were announced in February 2020:

The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) issued a detailed request for selection (RfS) for 1.2 GW of Interstate Transmission System (ISTS) connected solar projects across the country. The ceiling tariff for the tender was set at ₹2.78 (~$0.038)/kWh.

The Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Limited (GSECL) floated a tender for 185 MW of grid-connected solar projects ranging between 20 MW and 40 MW in capacity at various substations of the Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation (GETCO).

Major Auctions:

The Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA) announced the auction results for its 500 MW solar tender. The winners of the auction were NV Vogt Singapore, who won a capacity of 50 MW at a tariff of ₹3.17 (~$0.044)/kWh. Jakson, in consortium with Al-Jomaih, won a total capacity of 100 MW at ₹3.18 (~$0.045)/kWh. Vijay Printing Press won capacity of 25 MW, while Talettutayi Solar Projects Eight Private Limited (SolarArise) won a capacity of 9 MW under the bucket filling method. Both quoted a tariff of ₹3.18 (~$0.045)/kWh.

The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) auctioned 1.2 GW of the interstate transmission system (ISTS) connected solar projects (Tranche VIII). In the auction, SBE Renewables Fifteen Private Limited (SoftBank), AMP Energy Green, and Eden Renewable Alma won capacities of 600 MW, 100 MW, and 300 MW, respectively at the tariff of ₹2.50 (~$0.0348)/kWh. ReNew Solar won only 200 MW capacity out of the 600 MW; it bid at ₹2.51 (~$0.035)/kWh under the bucket-filling method.