Wind power tariffs dropped to a record-low level of ₹2.43 (~$0.038)/kWh quoted in the Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd. (GUVNL) 500 MW auction in Gujarat.

This is even lower than the lowest solar tariff of ₹2.44 (~$0.037)/kWh quoted in the Bhadla Solar auction in May 2017. The tariff of ₹2.43 (~$0.038)/kWh is also ₹0.21 (~$0.003)/kWh less than the other previous low of ₹2.64 (~$0.0413)/kWh.

Sprng Energy and K.P. Energy both quoted a tariff of ₹2.43 (~$0.038)/kWh. While Sprng Energy bid for 197.50 MW and K.P. Energy bid for 30 MW. Three companies quoted a tariff of ₹2.44 (~$0.0381)/kWh. Verdant Renewables bid for 100 MW, Betam Wind Energy (Engie) bid for 29.90 MW, and Powerica bid for 50 MW.

ReNew Power quoted a tariff of ₹2.45 (~$0.0383)/kWh to develop 200 MW. In all, 12 companies participated in the financial round and quoted tariffs below ₹3 (~$0.047)/kWh. Mytrah Energy was another developer who quoted ₹2.49 (~$0.0389)/kWh, a tariff below the ₹2.50 (~$0.039)/kWh mark. Mytrah also bid for 200 MW.

Mercom’s source at GUVNL confirmed the record-low tariffs quoted in the auction and said that the exact capacities to be awarded will be made public at later. “We are happy about the fact that seven developers quoted a tariff below ₹2.50 (~$0.039)/kWh,” the source said.

“Wind is now directly competing with solar and the winning bid of ₹2.43 (~$0.038)/kWh beat the lowest even solar tariff of ₹2.44 (~$0.037)/kWh. This result will make a lot of states sit up and take notice, and we may start seeing more wind tenders popping up. The question is how viable is this tariff,” said Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group.

This GUVNL auction had been delayed by a month. The Indian Wind Energy Association (IWEA) had petitioned against the legality of this tender, citing a lack of guidelines. Later, the Gujarat High Court gave a go-ahead to the auction.

In June 2017, Mercom had reported that GUVNL tendered 500 MW of wind to be installed across the state of Gujarat.

Mercom also reported that the central government has been working with state governments to issue bids for about 8 GW of cumulative wind capacity this year, and Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) had issued a tender for 2 GW of Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS)-connected wind projects under Tranche-III.

According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), cumulative wind power installations reached 32.7 GW as of October 2017.

Update: Added quote from Raj Prabhu