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					</table>The Ministry of Power <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/power-ministry-amends-bidding-guidelines-renewable-energy-projects" target="_blank" rel="noopener">amended</a> its tariff-based competitive bidding process guidelines for procuring power from wind, solar, wind-solar hybrid, and firm and dispatchable renewable energy projects with an energy storage system. The Ministry had issued bidding guidelines for wind-solar hybrid projects, wind, and solar projects in 2023.
The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/cerc-adopts-tariffs-for-secis-1-2-gw-wind-solar-hybrid-power-projects" target="_blank" rel="noopener">adopted</a> tariffs ranging between ₹3.43 (~$0.0395)/kWh and ₹3.46 (~$0.0398)/kWh for 1,200 MW wind-solar hybrid power projects (Tranche-VIII). The tariffs were discovered through a competitive bidding process conducted by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). The Commission directed SECI to ensure the completion of the power purchase agreements and power sale agreements.
Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikas Nigam <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/madhya-pradesh-floats-tenders-for-2-21-gw-rooftop-solar-projects" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> a request for proposal to develop rooftop solar projects with a cumulative capacity of 2.215 MW on government buildings in Chhindwara, Dhar, and Seoni districts. The projects in Chhindwara will have a capacity of 803 kW, those in Dhar will have a capacity of 829 kW, and Seoni-based projects will have a capacity of 583 kW.
NHPC <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/nhpc-19-2-mw-rooftop-solar-haryana" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> a request for selection to set up 19.20 MW rooftop solar projects on government buildings in Haryana under the renewable energy service company model. The scope of work entails the design, engineering, procurement and supply of equipment and material, multi-level inspections, packing, forwarding, receipt, unloading and storage, and associated civil works.
Kolkata-based solar module manufacturer Vikram Solar <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/vikram-solar-boosts-module-production-with-1-gw-expansion-in-west-bengal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increased</a> the manufacturing capacity of its Falta facility in West Bengal by 1 GW. The manufacturing lines in the facility at Oragadam in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, have also been upgraded to produce tunnel oxide passivated contact and heterojunction technology solar modules. These initiatives are set to boost Vikram Solar’s annual nameplate production capacity to 4.5 GW.
The U.S. community solar market <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/record-1-7-gw-community-solar-added-in-the-u-s-in-2024-long-term-growth-uncertain" target="_blank" rel="noopener">installed</a> a record-breaking 1.7 GW of capacity in 2024, a 35% increase from 2023, according to a new report by Wood Mackenzie in collaboration with the Coalition for Community Solar Access. The report said long-term growth of the community solar market, however, hangs in the balance because of the policy uncertainty in the U.S. New York, Maine, and Illinois led the growth, with all three states breaking annual records and accounting for 83% of national volumes. Cumulative community solar installations are now at 8.6 GW.
Israel-based solar inverter manufacturer SolarEdge <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/solaredges-q4-revenue-falls" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> revenues of $196.21 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, a 37.9% year-over-year decline from $316 million. However, the revenue beat analysts’ expectations by $6.99 million. The company’s solar segment contributed $189 million in revenue, down from $282.4 million in the same quarter last year. Solar revenue from the U.S. was $114 million, Europe was $44.8 million, and the international solar market was $30.3 million.

Daily News Wrap-Up: Government Amends Renewable Project Bidding Guidelines

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (<a href="https://mnre.gov.in/who-who">MNRE</a>) has issued a clarification for the second phase of its rooftop solar program under which distribution companies—or its authorized agencies will invite Expressions of Interest (EoI) for empaneling the agencies to supply, install, test, and commission rooftop solar systems in residential premises.
However, to ensure the quality and post-installation services, only manufacturers of solar panels and system integrators who fulfill the pre-determined technical and financial criteria would be eligible to participate in the bidding process.
The ministry has now clarified that all the bidders within the lowest bid (L1) price bracket will be empaneled and will provide services to the consumers at the lowest agreed tariff rate.
For all other bidders, the price should not exceed L1 plus X% of L1. And, if the total number of empaneled agencies is less than five within the acceptable band, then the distribution companies may also include those agencies who fall within the price bracket of L1+(X+5)% of L1 if they agree to match the lowest tariff. Here, “X” has to be defined by the agency and clearly stated in the EoI. The ministry has added that the value of X should not exceed 25.
Therefore, all the empaneled bidders will match the L1 rate; the ministry has clarified.
Further, the ministry has said that for group housing societies or residential welfare associations, the central financial assistance will be limited to 20%. However, the capacity eligible for the CFA for the group housing societies or residential welfare associations will be limited to 10 kW with a maximum total capacity of up to 500 kW, inclusive of the rooftop solar project already installed on the individual houses in the group housing societies or residential welfare associations.
In September 2019, <a href="https://mercomindia.com/mnre-residential-solar-rooftop-subsidy/">Mercom</a> reported that the MNRE in its official memorandum had stated that the subsidy under Phase-II of the grid-connected program would be available to all eligible households for installation of rooftop solar as per the regulations of the respective state electricity regulatory commissions and provisions of program implementation guidelines.
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Subsidy-Phase-II-of-Grid-Connected-Rooftop-Solar-Program-2.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-17512" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Subsidy-Phase-II-of-Grid-Connected-Rooftop-Solar-Program-2.png" alt="Subsidy Phase II of Grid Connected Rooftop Solar Program" width="523" height="493" srcset="https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Subsidy-Phase-II-of-Grid-Connected-Rooftop-Solar-Program-2.png 523w, https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Subsidy-Phase-II-of-Grid-Connected-Rooftop-Solar-Program-2-300x283.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 523px) 100vw, 523px" /></a>
In July 2019, MNRE notified new <a href="https://mercomindia.com/mnre-rooftop-solar-benchmark-costs/">benchmark costs</a> for grid-connected rooftop solar power projects for the financial year (FY) 2019-20. For projects with a capacity of above 1 kW and up to 10 kW, the benchmark cost was set at ₹54 (~$0.79)/W.
In August 2019, the MNRE <a href="https://mercomindia.com/mnre-solar-rooftop-program-guidelines/">issued</a> operational guidelines to implement the second phase of its grid-connected rooftop solar program. Overall, 22 GW of rooftop solar PV projects is to be set up under the second phase of this program.
The target of the program is to install 38 GW of rooftop solar by 2022, of which 4 GW will be in the residential sector and 34 GW under other sectors such as governments, commercial, industrial, and educational.
Image credit: EY418 &#8211; Own work, CC BY-SA [<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=rooftop+solar&amp;title=Special%3ASearch&amp;go=Go&amp;ns0=1&amp;ns6=1&amp;ns12=1&amp;ns14=1&amp;ns100=1&amp;ns106=1#/media/File:Rooftop_Solar_Panels.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">4.0</a>]

MNRE Clarifies Lowest Tariff Provision in its Rooftop Solar Program

The Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (<a href="http://www.gercin.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">GERC</a>) has approved a tariff of ₹2.65 (~$0.038)/kWh for a 100 MW solar project under phase VI of the state’s Raghanesda Solar Park. The tariff was quoted by Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Limited (GSECL) under the competitive bidding process conducted by Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL).
The petition was filed by the GUVNL requesting the regulatory commission to approve the tariff and give its consent to continue with the auction process by issuing the Letter of Award (LoA) to GSECL.
The history of tenders and retenders by GUVNL
There is a long history behind the tenders, retenders, and auction of projects at the Raghanesda Solar Park. The GUVNL first <a href="https://mercomindia.com/gujarat-floats-tender-700-mw-solar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">tendered</a> 700 MW of grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) projects to be set up under Phase III of Raghanesda Solar Park in September 2018. In the auction that <a href="https://mercomindia.com/guvnl-solar-auction-l1-tariff-2-84/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">followed</a> in December 2018, tariffs of ₹2.84 (~$0.0406)/kWh to ₹2.89 (~$0.0413)/kWh was quoted. Since these tariffs were considered as high by GUVNL, it later <a href="https://mercomindia.com/gujarat-cancels-700-mw-solar-auction/">scrapped</a> the auction in January 2019.
Again in March 2019, GUVNL issued a <a href="https://mercomindia.com/gujarat-700-mw-solar-tender/">revised</a> Request for Selection (RfS) for the 700 MW solar and added a tariff cap of ₹2.70 (~$0.038)/kWh. The technical bid for this tender was <a href="https://mercomindia.com/gujarat-700-mw-solar-tender-undersubscribed-100/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">opened</a> in May 2019, and the tender was undersubscribed by 100 MW. In the auction that <a href="https://mercomindia.com/gujarat-auctions-700-mw-of-solar-capacity/">followed</a> during the same month, tariffs ranged from ₹2.65 (~$0.038)/kWh to ₹2.70 (~$0.0387)/kWh to develop 500 MW of solar projects and the remaining 200 MW was left unallocated. The power purchase agreements for this 500 MW was also <a href="https://mercomindia.com/gujarat-ppa-solar-projects/">approved</a> by GERC in July 2019.
To auction the 200 MW that remained unallocated, GUVNL again <a href="https://mercomindia.com/gujarat-solar-parks-tender-950-mw/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">issued</a> an RfS in June 2019, re-tendering 200 MW of solar projects. The ceiling tariff for this bid was set as ₹2.65 (~$0.040)/kWh. The bid submission for this tender closed on July 24, 2019, but since GUVNL did not receive any bids, the deadline was moved to August 7, 2019. Finally, after the third attempt, GUVNL received a bid from GSECL offering to develop100 MW at the tariff of ₹2.65 (~$0.038)/ kWh, which was also the ceiling tariff specified in the tender. Apart from GSECL, no other bidders showed interest in developing the projects due to the challenging conditions of the park, adds the petition. This bid was opened on August 16, 2019.
GUVNL later sought the approval of GERC for continuing with the bidding process as there was only one bid due to a lack of competition, which is a rare occurrence. The hearing was on September 16, 2019. The GUVNL referred to the clause, “To ensure competitiveness, the minimum number of qualified bidders should be two. If the qualified bidders are less than two even after three attempts of bidding and the procurer still wants to continue with the bidding process, the same may be done with the consent of the appropriate commission”.
The commission has now approved the tariff, considering the tariff discovered was the lowest in the particular auction.
The commission has also directed GUVNL, to execute the power purchase agreement with GSECL within the time limit stipulated in the RfS document.

Gujarat Approves Tariff of ₹2.65/kWh for a 100 MW Solar Project in Raghanesda Solar Park

Ahmedabad-based Adani Transmission Limited (ATL), has signed a share purchase agreement and completed the acquisition of the WRSS XXI Transco Limited (WRSSTL) from REC Transmission Projects Company. WRSSTL is a project-specific special purpose vehicle (SPV) incorporated on March 26, 2019, as a wholly-owned subsidiary of REC Transmission Projects Company Limited and after successful completion of the bidding process for the project; the SPV was to be transferred to the selected bidder.
ATL had won this project through a tariff-based competitive bidding process and received the Letter of Intent (LoI) in July 2019.
WRSSTL transmission project consists of approximately 272 circuit kilometers 765kV and 3,000 MVA transformation capacity.
According to its Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) filing, “This project is primarily being constructed to strengthen the transmission system for relieving over loadings observed in Gujarat intra-state system due to renewable energy injections in Bhuj pooling station.”
The equity shares were acquired at face value of ₹10 (~$0.14).
The company will build, own, operate and maintain the transmission project in Gujarat for 35 years.
With this project, the cumulative transmission network of ATL will reach more than 14,000 circuit kilometers of transmission line and more than 23,000 MVA transformation capacity, out of which more than 11,000 circuit kilometers and more than 18,000 MVA are under steady-state operation.
This acquisition also takes the company closer to its target of setting up 20,000 circuit kilometers of transmission lines by 2022.
In <a href="https://mercomindia.com/adani-acquires-transmission-project-rajasthan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">September 2019,</a> ATL signed a share purchase agreement and completed the acquisition of the special purpose vehicle of Bikaner-Khetri Transmission Limited (BKTL), incorporated by PFC Consulting Ltd.  ATL had won the project through a tariff-based competitive bidding process and received the Letter of Intent (Lol) for the project in July 2019.
Lack of transmission infrastructure has been a <a href="https://mercomindia.com/transmission-capacity-concern-solar-wind/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">growing concern</a> for solar and wind companies in the country. In the past, <a href="https://mercomindia.com/indias-transmission-infrastructure-struggles-wind-solar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mercom has written about</a> how, with the expected surge in electricity demand over the coming decade and the rapid installation of solar and wind, India’s transmission and distribution system requires significant expansion.
Image credit: By Nixdorf, CC BY-SA <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=182375" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">3.0</a>

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