Wind tariff drops to new low of Rs 2.43/unit

Wind power tariff dropped to an all time low of Rs 2.43 per unit in an auction conducted by Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (GUVNL) yesterday, boosting clean energy initiatives of the country.
"In an auction for 500 MW wind power capacities, the lowest tariff was quoted at Rs 2.43 per unit by Sprng Energy and K P Energy," GUVNL MD Pankaj Joshi told PTI.
He further said Verdant Renewables, Betam Wind Energy and Powerica quoted tariff of Rs 2.44 per unit each while Renew Energy quoted a tariff of Rs 2.45.
Joshi said when the bids were opened, the lowest tariff was Rs 2.51 which dropped to Rs 2.43 in reverse bidding conducted later.

There were 18 bidders when bids were opened yesterday, but only 12 qualified for the reverse bidding held later the same day.
This is the third low for the wind power tariff in 2017.

Earlier this year, the tariff touched a new low of Rs 3.46 in first round of auction for one gigawatt by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).
In October, the tariff fell again to Rs 2.64 in second round of auction for one gigawatt by SECI.
The fall in tariff will boost clean energy in view of India's target of having 60 GW wind energy capacities by 2022.

At present, India has an installed wind capacity of 32.7 GW. The government has planned to auction 10 GW each in 2018- 19 and 2019-20.