The month of May witnessed the strongest auction and tender activity in India in quite some time with over 2 GW of solar projects tendered and 755 MW auctioned, compared to April 2017, which was one of the weakest months in terms of tender and auction activity with 26.72 MW of solar tendered and 250 MW auctioned.

Major Solar Tenders of 100 MW+

The Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) tendered 1,500 MW of solar in Tamil Nadu to meet the state’s renewable purchase obligation and peak demand. The Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA) tendered 100 MW of grid-connected rooftop solar to be installed across the state of Tamil Nadu.

The Gujarat State Electricity Corporation (GSECL) tendered 150 MW (3×50 MW) of solar projects to be developed at the Gujarat Solar Park in Charanka Village, Patan District.

Hindustan Salts Limited, a government-owned salt company, invited bids to develop a 100 MW solar project at Kharaghoda in Gujarat on a revenue sharing basis.

The Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corporation (APGENCO) tendered a 100 MW solar project at the Ananthapuramu-II Solar Park in Talaricheruvu, Andhra Pradesh.

Auctions

In the Bhadla Solar Park a total of 750 MW solar was auctioned in May. 500 MW of solar was auctioned in Bhadla Phase-III solar park, with another 250 MW auctioned in Bhadla Phase-IV Solar Park. Surana Solar, a solar project developer and module manufacturer, won bids to develop 5 MW of grid-connected rooftop solar in Kakinada City, Andhra Pradesh.

Tender activity had generally slowed down in the first quarter of 2017, but we are seeing signs of activity picking up in May. Considering the record low tariffs seen in Bhadla Solar Park auction, the market is expecting more tenders and auctions at these price levels.