CHENNAI: The cost of wind power in Tamil Nadu has fallen to 3.42 per unit, the lowest in the country. The price now is 4 paise lower than that quoted in the Union renewable power ministry’s wind power tender bid. On Monday, when the wind power price bids were opened, Tangedco found ReGen Power Tech Company had bid for 3.42 per unit for a capacity of 200MW. “Wind power companies had gone to court on the lower tariff. The case is pending and the letter of allocation will be given only after court disposes the case. At the same time, the court said the tender process can go on and this is why we opened the price bids,” a senior Tangedco official said.
The other two companies which quoted more or less around 3.42 per unit are Leap Energy for 250MW and NLC for 500MW. “Besides Regen, two companies had bid for wind power for a total capacity of 900MW. But TNERC had allowed only 500MW this year. Tangedco is seeking permission from TNERC to allow 900MW this year as the price is low,” said the official. Monday’s is the second lowest power price in Tamil Nadu and even lower is the wind power that is being purchased by Tangedco at 3 per unit. “There are small wind power companies with a total capacity of 250MW. These are old ones which signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Tangedco at the rate of Rs 3 per unit. This is the lowest for Tangedco,” said the official. Tamil Nadu has a total of 7,500MW and 2017 has been the best year for wind power as the discom has been evacuating wind power daily since the season began in May. On July 10, Tangedco evac uated a record 5,079MW for nearly 2 hours from 7pm. ‘We have better transmission facilities, including sub-stations, due to which wind power evacuation will be more in the coming years,’ he said.
Meanwhile, Tangedco is set to issue a letter of allocation for 16 solar power companies which won the bids at `3.47 per unit. ‘Once we issue the letter, these companies can start purchasing land, also arranging finance for the project.The total capacity of solar power this year is 1500MW,’ said the official.
Source:EnergyWorld
