500 MW Gujarat Auction Achieves INR 2.44/kWh Bid

Indian solar power tariffs again touched record low levels that has already been achieved previously. The INR 2.44 ($0.0338) per kWh level was reached through the L1 bid in the 500 MW solar PV re-tendering of Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL)  (see Gujarat Retenders 500 MW PV). The number has already been achieved three time previously in India – the first time during during the 500 MW Bhadla Solar Park Phase III tender (see ACME Wins 200 MW At 2.44 INR Record).

The first time the Gujarat tender received a lowest winning bid of ‘only’ INR 2.98 ($0.0456) per kWh from Kalthia Engineering and Construction Ltd., which led the agency, which considered the bids too high, cancel the auction altogether  (see 500 MW PV Auction Scrapped In Gujarat).

This time, the agency should be happy with the results as the winning tariffs ranged between INR 2.44 to INR 2.45 ($0.0338 to $0.0339) per kWh. Aditya Birla Renewables won 100 MW and Giriraj Renewables of Avaada secured 300 MW capacity for the same winning bid of INR 2.44 per kWh. Azure Power had bid for the entire 500 MW on offer, but had to be satisfied with 100 MW with a winning bid of INR 2.45 per kWh, according to local media.

The winning bidders seem to be oblivious of the 25% safeguard duty that – after a lot of deliberations, discussions and legal battles – was imposed by the Indian government on solar cells whether or not assembled in modules or panels, imported from China and Malaysia (see 25% Safeguard Duty Imposed By India). The Supreme Court of India issued an interim order in September 2018, allowing the implementation of the duty from July 30, 2018 (see Safeguard Duty In India Near).