The Gujarat government, at a reverse auction of 500 MW of solar projects, saw a low winning bid at Rs 2.65 per kwH. The auction was conducted on Tuesday, according to a report in the Economic Times.
This price is the among the lowest bids concluded in India -- the lowest being one concluded in May this year for a Rajasthan project, at Rs 2.44.
The winning bid at the latest auction held was expected to be higher, as solar radiation in Gujarat is not as intense as radiation in Rajasthan.
Also, developers in Gujarat will not be provided land in solar parks – they will have to acquire land by themselves. To add to that, the cost of solar modules in China has risen from where 90% Indian solar companies imported their equipment. These costs were not as high before.
The lowest bid was made, for a 90 MW project, at Rs. 2.65 per kwH by GRT Jewellers India. The company is headquartered in Chennai will be venturing into solar for the first time.
The second and third lowest bidders were both state-owned power generation companies — Gujarat State Electricity Corporation and Gujarat Industries Power Company — which bided for 75 MW each at Rs 2.66 and Rs 2.67 per kwH, respectively.
The remaining bids totalling 260 MW capacity (out of 500 MW on offer) were won by NYSE-listed Azure Power, one of the largest solar developers in the country, which also bid at Rs 2.67 per kwH.
The total number of bidders in the auction was 14. Renowned companies such as Tata Power, ReNew Power, Finland-headquartered Fortum Solar, Lightsource Renewable Energy of the UK and Canadian Solar Energy were among the ones who lost.
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