JAIPUR: Rajasthan’s solar energy sector continued to enjoy the confidence of power project investors who bid aggressively for 750-megawatt (MW) capacity put up by the state government for near all-time low tariffs.
As per industry estimates, the implementation of projects to produce 750 MW will require successful bidders to invest about Rs 3,000 crore in the state.
Acme, Fortum, Palimarwar and Sitara bagged projects quoting a tariff of Rs 2.48 per unit in an auction conducted by the state-owned Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).
The solar tariff of Rs 2.48 per unit discovered at the auction is close to Rs 2.44 per unit found for the first time in May 2017 during the auction conducted for Bhadla Solar Park.
Acme has bagged 250 MW capacity project in the reverse auction, while Fortum, Palimarwar and Sitara won 250 MW, 40 MW and 100 MW, respectively. The second lowest tariff quoted was at Rs 2.49 per unit offered by Re-New Solar Power who are set to get the rest 110 MW though they bid for 360 MW.
‘Lower tariffs show faith in Rajasthan’s solar power potential’
“The lower tariffs offered by solar developers show their faith in the state’s potential for solar power generation. Secondly, when big names in the industry participate seriously and win projects in auctions, it adds to the image of the state. Investments of Rs 3,000 crore will create more economic opportunities among vendors and contractors triggering a cascading impact on creating new jobs,” said Sunil Bansal, general secretary of Rajasthan Solar Association.
In the past one year, the commissioned capacity in Rajasthan has gone up 1,000 MW to 3,100 MW even though it has lost the number one position to aggressive Karnataka. The state now comes third in the country after Telangana. But the pipeline of projects worth 800 MW under implementation and upcoming bids for 750 MW and 600 MW in two tranches are poised to help the state regain the top spot in the country.
A top official in the energy department said the state discoms will buy the power from developers and power purchase agreement is expected to be signed soon.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes
