Solar tenders decline in November

21 Dec 2017 Editorial Team

Solar tender and auction activity in India had a steep decline in November 2017. The solar capacity tendered across the country during the month fell by 25 per cent to 300 MW compared to the October 2017 total and the amount of solar auctioned dropped by 98 per cent to just 5 MW.

“Hopefully, tender and auction activity has bottomed out. The GST issue is almost behind us and the government is asking DISCOMs to refrain from PPA renegotiations, even though the anti-dumping case is still looming,” says Raj Prabhu, CEO, Mercom Capital Group.

Major tenders
The largest tender seen during the month was issued by Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited (KREDL), the renewable energy implementing agency in Karnataka. KREDL re-tendered 200 MW of solar to be developed at the Pavagada Solar Park in Karnataka.

Auctions
The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) was responsible for the only solar auction held in November, when it auctioned a 5 MW grid-connected solar PV project under the National Solar Mission Defense viability gap funding (VGF) programme for the Ordnance Factory in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Giriraj Renewables emerged as the successful bidder by quoting a tariff of ?4.18 (~$0.064) per kWh without VGF.

Following the recent lull in tender activity, MNRE revealed that it is preparing to announce a spate of tenders for solar projects over the course of four months starting in December 2017. The tenders aim to help the government reach its goal of installing 100 GW of solar capacity by 2022.

Under the plan, MNRE says it will work alongside states to announce tenders needed to reach 20 GW of ground-mounted capacity in solar parks in the 2017-18 fiscal year. Of the 20 GW, 3.6 GW have already been tendered while another 3 GW were set to be tendered in December 2017, followed by 3 GW in January 2018, 5 GW in February 2018, and 6 GW in March 2018. Another 30 GW is expected to be tendered in 2018-19 with 30 GW to follow in 2019-20.

According to Mercom’s Q3 2017 India Solar Market Update, a total of 1,456 MW of solar were tendered and 1,232 MW of solar were auctioned in Q3 2017. That total represented a marked reduction from the activity seen in Q2 2017, when 3,408 MW of solar were tendered and 2,505 MW of solar were auctioned.

About the Author:
Priyadarshini Sanjay is Managing Director at Mercom Communications India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mercom Capital Group, with over 16 years of experience in corporate communications, client relations and corporate management.

Solar tender and auction activity in India had a steep decline in November 2017. The solar capacity tendered across the country during the month fell by 25 per cent to 300 MW compared to the October 2017 total and the amount of solar auctioned dropped by 98 per cent to just 5 MW. “Hopefully, tender and auction activity has bottomed out. The GST issue is almost behind us and the government is asking DISCOMs to refrain from PPA renegotiations, even though the anti-dumping case is still looming,” says Raj Prabhu, CEO, Mercom Capital Group. Major tenders The largest tender seen during the month was issued by Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited (KREDL), the renewable energy implementing agency in Karnataka. KREDL re-tendered 200 MW of solar to be developed at the Pavagada Solar Park in Karnataka. Auctions The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) was responsible for the only solar auction held in November, when it auctioned a 5 MW grid-connected solar PV project under the National Solar Mission Defense viability gap funding (VGF) programme for the Ordnance Factory in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Giriraj Renewables emerged as the successful bidder by quoting a tariff of ?4.18 (~$0.064) per kWh without VGF. Following the recent lull in tender activity, MNRE revealed that it is preparing to announce a spate of tenders for solar projects over the course of four months starting in December 2017. The tenders aim to help the government reach its goal of installing 100 GW of solar capacity by 2022. Under the plan, MNRE says it will work alongside states to announce tenders needed to reach 20 GW of ground-mounted capacity in solar parks in the 2017-18 fiscal year. Of the 20 GW, 3.6 GW have already been tendered while another 3 GW were set to be tendered in December 2017, followed by 3 GW in January 2018, 5 GW in February 2018, and 6 GW in March 2018. Another 30 GW is expected to be tendered in 2018-19 with 30 GW to follow in 2019-20. According to Mercom’s Q3 2017 India Solar Market Update, a total of 1,456 MW of solar were tendered and 1,232 MW of solar were auctioned in Q3 2017. That total represented a marked reduction from the activity seen in Q2 2017, when 3,408 MW of solar were tendered and 2,505 MW of solar were auctioned. About the Author: Priyadarshini Sanjay is Managing Director at Mercom Communications India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mercom Capital Group, with over 16 years of experience in corporate communications, client relations and corporate management.