⚡A 1,000 MW solar park at Kadapa was approved by the Union Government in August NTPC Limited invited bids from solar power developers to develop 250 MW capacity in March 2016 and 650 MW capacity in July 2016.
⚡The auction for 250 MW concluded on 11 April 2017. NTPC awarded the contract to French firm solairedirevt for a record-low tariff of INR 3.15 per kWh, beating the previous low of INR 3.29 per kWh awarded in auctions for the Rewa Solar Park on 10 February 2017.The price is the levellized tariff for 25 years. Although the Rewa contract was awarded at a cost of INR 2.97 per kWh, the levellized tariff over the contract's 25 year period amounts to INR 3.30 per kWh.The other bids received for the project (and the quoted prices) were Canadian Solar Energy (Rs 3.39), Greenko Energies (Rs 4.09), Azure Power (Rs 4.38), Mohoba Solar (Rs 4.54) and Mahindra Renewables (Rs 4.68).
⚡In January 2017, SECI issued India's first grid-scale solar-plus-storage tender to install 5MW/2.5MWh battery energy storage systems to two separate solar projects of 50 MW each in the park.
⚡The project has been delayed due to Andhra Pradesh discoms refusing to purchase the power generated at the solar plant. Discoms argue that solar tariffs have dropped considerably since the auction for the Kadapa park took place and prefer to source power from other sources.
⚡In February 2020, 250 MW capacity was commissioned by Solairedirect and the remaining 750 MW is under various stages of construction.
🌞In 24 October 2017 NTPC was searching for buyer for kadapa solar park
⚡All 250 MW at the April auction were won by SolaireDirect, a subsidiary of the French energy giant Engie, quoting a tariff of Rs 3.15 per kWh, which was a record low at the time.
⚡But so far Engie has not even received a Letter of Award (LoA) from NTPC confirming that it had been allotted the project, sources said. Usually, the power purchase agreement (PPA) with the winner of an auction is signed within a validity period of two months after the auction.But in this case, no PPA has yet been signed, and the validity period was recently extended for the third time – this time for a month – till mid-November, sources said.
⚡Neither Engie nor NTPC responded to queries about the delay as of press time Monday.
⚡Sources said the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) is seized of the matter, more so because Engie is France’s biggest power utility, and France and India are key movers of International Solar Alliance (ISA). MNRE secretary Anand Kumar declined to comment on the development.The problem has arisen because Andhra pradesh discoms, which were expected to buy the power in the normal course, have declined to do so.
⚡Though Engie’s tariff, quoted in April was the lowest then, two more solar auctions conducted by Solar Corporation of India at the Bhadla Solar Park in Rajasthan in May saw the winning tariffs fall further, first to Rs 2.63 and then to Rs2.44 per kwH.
⚡As a ripple effect, Andhra Pradesh in July decided that solar power at Rs 3.15 per kWh was too high a tariff. Its nodal agency for renewable energy New and Renewable Energy Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (Nredcap) informed NTPC it was no longer interested in buying, but offered to waive transmission charges if NTPC got any other state to buy it. (ET, July 24)
⚡Sources revealed that NTPC has held discussions with nodal renewable energy agencies of several other states to buy the power.
⚡“States which have not yet embarked on a solar programme but need to fulfil their renewable purchase obligations (RPOs) could benefit from this project,” said one of the sources.
⚡But no decision has been reached yet. And NTPC has failed to finalise a PPA notwithstanding its reputation and the quality of power it guarantees.
⚡“Validity periods for signing PPAs have been extended by some states in the past, but rarely ever by NTPC,” said an industry insider. “Usually NTPC readily finds buyers. But the rapid and steep fall in solar tariffs seems to have unsettled the market.”
⚡Engie currently has around 325.6 MW of commissioned solar projects in India and is building another 140 MW project at the Bhadla Solar Park.
⚡During a visit to India in May this year, Engie CEO Isabelle Kocher had said her company intended to invest at least $1 billion in Indian solar projects over the next five years. (ET, May 31) But such hiccups could well lead to a rethink.
⚡The deadline for bid submissions is 7 December this year. The tender comes under the National Solar Mission (NSM) Phase II, Batch II, Tranch I.
⚡NTPC aims to build 10GW of solar in India under its own steam, but consultancy firm Bridge to India recently said that NTPC is struggling to finf off-takers for this capacity in an environment dominated by private sector firms that can bid low and very aggressively.
⚡This week Climate Bonds Initiative hailed NTPC's INR20 billion (US$299 million) Green bond as a model that should be replicated across fossil fuel firms across the world.
🌞NHPC 50MW🌞(NATIONAL HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER CORPORATION)
⚡In other news, Indian state-run power firm National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) has issued a tender for EPC services to develop a 50MW grid-connected solar PV project located at Theni and Dindigul Districts in the State of Tamil Nadu along with O&M services for 10 years.
⚡The project is to be completed within nine months of the contract award. The deadline for bid submission is 24 November this year.
⚡In June NHPC announced plans to set up a 600MW floating solar photovoltaic project at the Koyna hydroelectric project in the Satara district of Maharashtra. The PV project will be combined with pumped hydro storage
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