CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday signed memorandums of understanding with four solar power companies, which won contracts for 1500 MW. A total of 16 companies, awarded contracts, will invest Rs 9,000 crore in the coming year at the rate of Rs 6 crore per MW of solar power.
Symbolically, four solar power companies, including the lowest bidder Rasi Green, which quoted Rs 3.47 per unit, now the base price for other companies, signed the MoUs in the presence of chief minister K Palaniswami, chief secretary Girija Vadiyanathan, TNEB chairman M Saikumar and other officials at the secretariat.
These companies had bid for various capacities of solar power for the year 2017-18 and won bids after they agreed to the lowest tariff of Rs 3.47 per unit. The 16 companies, led by Raasi Green, which won the bid at Rs 3.47 per unit, will set up 100MW solar power plant in Ramanathapuram district. NLC will provide 709MW unit and six companies will sell 100MW each. Other companies have been allocated 1 to 54MW.
Rassi Green is headed by G Narasimhan, a former TMC MP from Krishnagiri. “We will be setting up the solar project with our bid for 100MW at Paramakudi in Ramanthapuram district where we have land. We need at least 400 acres to set up the project,” Narasimhan told TOI from Bengaluru.
“Many companies had bid for anywhere between Rs 3.47 and Rs 3.97 per unit. We asked other solar power companies to manage the lowest tariff and on Thursday, 15 companies, besides Raasi Green, accepted the tariff at Rs 3.47 per unit,” said a senior Tangedco official.
NLC alone bid for the entire capacity for the year 2017-18 at Rs 3.97 per unit but agreed to lower it to Rs 3.47 per unit.
The same day that the Tamil Nadu government signed MoUs for solar power at the rate of Rs 3.47 per unit, the tariff fell to Rs 2. 65 per unit at a solar power auction held in Gujarat. “In Tamil Nadu too from next year, the base tariff will be Rs 3 per unit for solar power as per a latest Central direction,” said the official.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes
