The month of December 2019 saw a significant rise in the solar tender activity compared to the subdued activity in November 2019. The last month of 2019 also saw one major auction, a respite when compared with the previous month, which had no auctions at all.

In December 2019, tenders were announced for 2.3 GW of solar, according to Mercom India Solar Tender Tracker compared to November 2019 which saw approximately 700 MW of solar tenders and no auctions.

Year-over-year, the capacity tendered in December 2019 declined by 82% compared to December 2018, which witnessed tender announcements of ~13.2 GW.

Similarly, auctions decreased by 76% compared to the same month last year. In December 2019, nearly 500 MW of solar was auctioned compared to December 2018 with auctions for 2.1 GW.

Major Tenders

Here is a quick recap of the major tenders that were announced in December 2019:

The month saw the Solar Electricity Corporation India’s (SECI) announcement for two tenders for 1.2 GW each of solar and wind-solar hybrid projects, connected to the interstate transmission system (ISTS). However, as of now, no documents are available for these two tenders.

The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) invited bids to develop 923 MW of solar projects. According to the tender, the projects can range between 50 MW and 300 MW. The tender has been floated under tranche II of the second phase of the central public sector undertaking (CPSU) program.

The NTPC also invited bids for 500 MW of grid-connected solar projects under an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) package in Maharashtra. The projects under this tender can range anywhere between 100 MW and 500 MW.

The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) issued a request for selection (RfS) for the long-term procurement of power from 500 MW of intra-state grid-connected solar power projects (Phase-V). The MSEDCL has set a ceiling tariff of ₹2.90 (~$0.041)/kWh.

Retender

The Bihar Renewable Energy Development Agency (BREDA) reissued its first large-scale solar tender with a revised ceiling tariff of  ₹3.15 (~$0.04)/kWh. The tender was initially floated in June 2019 for setting up 250 MW of grid-connected ground-mounted solar projects in the state, but there was no ceiling tariff proposed for the bid.

Major Auction

Juniper Green Energy Pvt Ltd emerged as the lowest bidder in the auction for 500 MW of solar projects held by Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited.

Juniper Green won 150 MW of solar projects in the auction at a tariff of ₹2.89 ($0.0407)/kWh. The remaining 350 MW was bagged by Maharashtra State Power Generation Company Limited (MSPGCL) at a tariff of ₹2.90 ($0.0409)/kWh.

The tender was issued in November 2019 for the long-term procurement of power from 500 MW of intra-state solar power project (Phase-IV).

Image credit: Univergy