SECI Awards 50 MW Floating PV Capacity

• SECI had issued a 100 MW floating PV tender for Rihand Dam in Uttar Pradesh in March 2018, which was later increased to 150 MW
• Shapoorji Pallonji has won 50 MW capacity in the 'B package', for which another contender was Renew Power
• Shapoorji Pallonji won the tender quoting a winning tariff of INR 3.29 ($0.047) per kWh
• SECI will auction remaining 2 packages of 50 MW each separately
• Another Uttar Pradesh tender for 550 MW issued by UPNEDA is oversubscribed; the agency has received total bids of 795 MW

Indian business conglomerate Shapoorji Pallonji Group has won a part of the 150 MW floating solar power tender issued by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for the Rihand Dam in Uttar Pradesh in March 2018 (see 100 MW Floating PV Tender In India). Initially it had tendered a capacity of 100 MW, which was later increased to 150 MW, broken down in 3 projects of 50 MW each. Rihand Dam is also known as Govind Ballabh Pant Sagar Reservoir, located in Sonbhadra.

Shapoorji Pallonji won 50 MW of the 'B package' in the reverse auction, according to Mercom India Research. It quoted a tariff of INR 3.29 ($0.047) per kWh, beating Renew Power that also bid under this package. A SECI official was quoted as saying that the agency will intimate an auction for the remaining 2 packages (A&C) of 50 MW each, separately. The benchmark tariff for the tender was fixed at INR 3.32 ($0.047) per kWh by SECI.

French floating PV expert Ciel et Terre had previously said it was in discussion with SECI to develop the 150 MW capacity on Rihand Dam (see Ciel Et Terre Manufacturing Unit In India).

550 MW UPNEDA tender oversubscribed

In related news from Uttar Pradesh, the 550 MW solar tender issued by the Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA) in October 2018, has received 795 MW of total bids (see 550 MW Solar Power Tender In Uttar Pradesh).

Mercom says 8 firms namely, National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Adani, Jakson, Avaada, Tata Power Renewables, Sukhbir Agro, Vijay Printing Press and EDF (Bastille Solar), have offered bids for this tender, with Adani bidding for the highest capacity of 250 MW.