After a lull, the month of December 2018 witnessed a huge surge in tender announcements, nearly nine times more than the 1.4 GW tendered in November 2018. This was also the highest capacity tendered during the entire 2018, according to Mercom’s India Solar Tender Tracker.

According to the tender trajectory issued by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), approximately 30 GW are expected to be tendered in FY 2018-19. So far, over 40 GW have already been tendered. While these announcements are positive for the industry, the markets must wait to see if these tenders will turn into auctions.

Auction activity also increased in the month of December with over 2 GW auctioned, compared to 61 MW auctioned in November 2018.

On the whole, this impressive improvement in tender activity can be attributed to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE)’s goal to implement 23 GW of ultra-mega solar projects in the Leh and Ladakh regions of Jammu & Kashmir, India’s largest tender so far.

Here is a quick recap of the major tenders and auctions that took place in the month of December 2018:

Major Tenders

The Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd. (SECI) issued a tender for the development of 7.5 GW of grid-connected solar power projects in Leh and Kargil districts of Jammu & Kashmir. The total capacity of 7.5 GW has been divided into three packages of 2.5 GW each.

SECI also issued a tender to set up 1.2 GW of ISTS-connected solar PV power projects (ISTS-III) and 1.2 GW of ISTS-connected wind-solar hybrid power projects (tranche-II) to be developed across the country.

The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) issued a tender to set up a 1 GW (100 MW X 10 clusters) grid-connected floating solar PV power project on the Ujjani dam in Solapur district, setting the upper tariff limit at ₹3 (~$0.043)/kWh. With this, Maharashtra is fast becoming a frontrunner in the floating solar category.

Major Auctions

SB Energy quoted the lowest (L1) tariff of ₹2.84 (~$0.0406)/kWh to develop 250 MW of solar projects in the auction conducted by Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL) for 700 MW of solar power projects to be set up under Phase III of the Raghanesda Solar Park located in Gujarat.

SECI auctioned the first mega ISTS-connected wind-solar hybrid power project (tranche-I) of 840 MW capacity in the country, which is only 80 percent of the bid capacity (1,050 MW). SB Energy quoted the L1 tariff to develop 450 MW of wind-solar hybrid projects. SECI had initially tendered 2.5 GW of wind-solar hybrid power projects. Later, the capacity was reduced to 1.2 GW.

The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) emerged as the lowest bidder by quoting ₹3.02 (~$0.0431)/kWh to develop 85 MW of grid-connected solar PV projects in the auction conducted by the Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA) for 550 MW of grid-connected solar projects.

Subscribe to Mercom India Solar Tender Tracker to keep up with tenders and auctions as they happen.