PPAs signed for 750 MW of solar in Rajasthan

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Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) for five solar projects with a combined total capacity of 750 MW.

Two of the projects has been tendered by SECI under the National Solar Mission (NSM), Phase-II, Batch 4 program and are set to be developed in the Bhadla Solar Park in Rajasthan.

Interested developers still have time to bid in SECI’s latest auction. According a recent SECI update, the bid submission deadline for the 750 MW tender has been extended to December 05, 2017.

During SECI’s 500 MW Bhadla Phase-III Solar Park auction, ACME won a bid to develop 200 MW of grid-connected solar projects with a tariff of ₹2.44 (US$0.037) per kWh, while SBG Cleantech won a bid to develop another 300 MW with a tariff of ₹2.45 (US$0.038) per kWh. These are the lowest solar bids ever recorded in India.

The remaining 250 MW of grid-connected solar project capacity was tendered by SECI in a separate 250 MW Bhadla Phase-IV Solar Park auction. In that auction, Phelan Energy Group, won a bid to develop 50 MW with a tariff of ₹2.62 (US$0.041) per kWh; Avaada Power Private Limited, the renewable energy arm of the newly emerged Welspun Energy, won a bid to develop 100 MW at a tariff of ₹2.62 (US$0.041) per kWh; and SBG Cleantech won a bid to develop 100 MW with a tariff of ₹2.63 (US$0.041) per kWh.

The trend of prompt PPA signing by SECI are good news for those bidding teams interested in another tender that SECI announced in June 2017.

An SBG Cleantech official commented on the matter:

 “Yes, the PPAs have been signed, there was not much of an issue as SECI is the off-taker.”

An anonymous source at SECI added:

“The PPAs for these projects were signed by SECI and the developers in September 2017. Now the developers have 12 months to complete the projects. By September 2018, all of the 750 MW should be added to the grid if everything goes according to plan.”

An ACME executive also confirmed the signing of ACME’s PPA, stating:

 “We have entered into a PPA with SECI, the work has begun.”

We have recently reported about several solar projects in India:

• 50 MW Godawari Solar Project CSP plant in Rajhastan
• 25 MW Gujarat Solar One CSP plant in Gujarat
• 14 MW Dadri ISCC Plant in Uttar Pradesh
• 125 MW Dhursar CSP plant in Rajasthan
• 100 MW Diwakar CSP Plant in Rajasthan
• 50 MW Abhijeet CSP project in Rajasthan region
• 30 MW solar PV park in the village of Palaswade, Satara distric, Maharashtra
• 60 MWp project in the Indian state of Maharashtra
• 40 MW Charankar solar project in Gujarat