The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has auctioned 2 GW capacity of Interstate Transmission System (ISTS)-connected wind power projects under the Tranche-IV. The capacity was tendered by SECI in February 2018.
The tariffs quoted in the auction range from Rs 2.51 per kWh Rs 2.67 per kWh. The lowest tariff (L1) of Rs 2.51 per kWh has been quoted by six bidders to win about 1,435 MW of project capacity. These are Srijan Energy Systems (250 MW), Sprng Energy (300 MW), BLP Energy (285 MW), Betam Energy (200 MW), INOX Wind (100 MW), and Adani Green Energy (300 MW). This is 2.9 per cent more than the L1 tariff quoted in SECI’s Tranche-III wind auction. A tariff of Rs 2.52 per kWh has been quoted by Mytrah Energy and ReNew Wind Energy to win projects worth 300 MW and 265 MW of capacity, respectively.
The aggressive bids in the latest auction come at a time when concerns have been expressed over some states looking to renege on their offtake commitments for projects awarded at a comparatively higher tariff.
However, the result underscores steady and sustained investor interest in wind energy projects as costs of turbine generators decline amid a favourable policy environment. Low wind power tariffs are a big boost for clean energy in view of India’s target of having 60 GW wind energy capacity by 2022.
At present, India has an installed wind capacity of about 34 GW. The government has planned to auction 10 GW each in 2018-19 and 2019-20.