Softbank, O2, Axis Energy, EDEN, Avaada emerge successful bidders for 2 GW solar projects

SoftBank, O2, Axis Energy Ventures, EDEN Renewables and Avaada Energy have emerged as successful bidders for 2,000 megawatts (MW) solar energy projects, entailing an investment of Rs 11,000 crore, in an auction concluded last week.

"SoftBank got the maximum 600 MW in the auction conducted by state-run NHPC followed by Axis Energy Ventures (Brookfield promoted) at 400 MW, O2 (Temasek promoted) at 380 MW and EDEN Renewables at 300 MW at a tariff of Rs 2.55 per unit each," a source said.

The source added that Avaada Energy was also the successful bidder at 2.56 per unit for 320 MW (against their bid for 600 MW).

The E-RA (e-reverse auction) was conducted among 7 bidders with aggregate (offer) capacity of 3,140 MW.

Against the total allocated capacity of 2,000 MW, the lowest e-RA tariff of Rs 2.55 per unit to Rs 2.56 per unit was achieved against the initial quoted tariff of Rs 2.71 per unit to Rs 2.78 per unit.

In spite of the complete lockdown in India due to COVID-19, NHPC successfully completed the E-RA. The success of this auction assumes significance in view of India's ambitious target of having 100 gigawatts (GW) of solar energy by 2022.

Avaada Energy Chairman Vineet Mittal said in a statement issued on Monday, "The bidding was aggressive and low market demand was trying to drive the price down. Our bid was competitive, and we are happy that we won against some tough competition. On the back of a highly conducive policy environment, a steady influx of capital, falling prices and new technologies, India will continue its exponential growth in its renewable energy (RE) sector."
In a tweet earlier, Power Minister R K Singh had said, "During the lockdown, we kept our interaction with stakeholders alive through virtual platforms and also brought out new bids."