Uttar Pradesh’s UPNEDA Invites Bids for a 550 MW Solar projects

The Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA) has invited bids for 550 MW of grid connected solar PV power projects.

The last date for the bid submission is set for 14 November, 2018. According to the UPNEDA official the tender is divided into two parts, with 500 MW to be bought by Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd(UPPCL) and the other 50 MW, Noida Power Company Ltd will buy.

Earlier the Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) approved a request for the procurement (RfP) and a PPA for 500 MW of grid-connected solar projects put forth by the UPNEDA.

This tariff based competitive bidding process also has a ceiling of Rs 3.10/kWh.

The minimum capacity for each solar power project has been kept to 5 MW. Any bidder can apply for a minimum of 5 MW and to a maximum of 550 MW. The power purchase agreement (PPA) will be signed for a period of 25 years with a single fixed tariff.

UPNEDA had sought approval of ceiling tariff of Rs 3.25/kWh for the tender along with the revised RfP and PPA. Upper tariff ceiling was set to be Rs 3.25/kWh if safeguard duty is included, and if not included, the tariff ceiling will be Rs 3.10/kWh.

The state government, further, will provide subsidy per kilometer based on the lengths of the transmission, if the projects are set up in Bundelkhand and Purvanchal area, as per the Solar Energy Policy of Uttar Pradesh 2017.

At the recent solar auctions held recently by Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA), the tariffs quoted by the developers remained above Rs 3 mark.

The L1 tariff/lowest bid was quoted Rs 3.17 for the 500 MW grid connected solar projects in the state. The lowest tariff was quoted by NTPC and Maheshwari Mining and Energy. That points to just how tight the final bidding could be for contenders, as the rupee depreciation will only make it tougher to stay within the tariff limits set.