Spain's Solarpack Corp quotes lowest tariff of Rs 2.36/unit for solar power

The tender floated by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) is pan-India and the developer can set up a project anywhere in the country.

In a recent tender for setting up 2,000 Mw of solar power projects, a Spanish renewable firm quoted the lowest tariff in India’s solar energy history.

Solarpack Corporation bid Rs 2.36 per unit for 300 Mw of solar power project and, with this, has marked its entry into India.

The tender, floated by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), is an all-India one, and the developer can set up the project anywhere. SECI is the nodal agency under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) for renewable energy projects.

Against the requested 2,000 Mw under the tender, SECI received bids for 5,280 Mw. Among other bidders were Avikiran Surya, which is backed by Italian utility Enel, and New York-based Eden Renewables, both of whom have won 300 Mw each for Rs 2.37/unit.

Ayana Renewable Power — backed by British CDC — and ReNew Power, have won 300 Mw and 400 Mw, respectively, for Rs 2.38/unit.

The previous lowest bid was Rs 2.44/unit by ACME Solar in 2018 for a 600 mw project to be set in Rajasthan. The project is currently under litigation as ACME wants to withdraw from the same.

This is the first such tender with the majority capacity bid and won by foreign players.

India has set a target of 175 Gw of renewable power by 2022. Solar power will contribute 100 Gw to this target. Under the Paris Climate Change summit, India has committed 40 per cent of its energy demand to be sourced from clean energy.