Sprng Akshaya Urja (Sprng Energy), NTPC Renewable Energy, Project Nine Renewable Power (Ayana Power), and TEQ Green Power XIII (O2 Power) have won REMC’s auction to supply 1 GW of round-the-clock (RTC) power for 25 years from grid-connected renewable power projects with or without storage.

Sprng won 100 MW by quoting ₹3.99 (~$0.048)/kWh. NTPC and Ayana won 500 MW and 300 MW, respectively, quoting ₹4.10 (~$0.050)/kWh. O2 won 60 MW quoting ₹4.27 (~$0.052) kWh.

These projects are to be developed across India.

The tender was floated in July last year. REMC is a joint venture of Indian Railways and Rail India Technical and Economic Service.

The projects’ annual availability for the first four years is 75%, and 85% for the rest of the contract years. The minimum project availability must be 50% for the entire contract tenure.

The developer will have to pay 200% of the applicable tariff for any shortfall in power supplied, calculated on an annual or time-block basis. The tariff will be mutually agreed upon and levelized based on an 8.09% discounting factor.

The tender had specified stated that only commercially established and operational technologies should be used to minimize technology risks.

The energy storage system (ESS) power must be from renewable sources. The renewable generation components and the ESS installed may be located anywhere, and different components of RTC power can be connected to the interstate transmission system network at various substations.

It had also mandated the use of solar modules from the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) issued by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. Similarly, the wind turbines must also be procured from suppliers listed in the Revised List of Models and Manufacturers.

India witnessed a 50% quarter-over-quarter dip in solar auctions, with only 820 MW announced in the first quarter of 2023, according to Mercom India Research. The capacity auctioned dropped 69% over the same period last year, mainly due to the uncertainty around the suspension of the ALMM policy.

The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy recently announced that renewable project tenders of 50 GW capacity will be issued annually for the financial years 2024-28.

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