Oversubscribed by 1 GW, a 500 MW wind-solar hybrid tender of the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) finally adjudged Tata Power and Azure Power as winners.
Both the winners quoted the same tariff of INR 2.62 ($0.0351) per kWh, according to Mercom India Research, to secure their share. While Tata Power claimed 300 MW capacity, Azure Power won 200 MW. They can establish this capacity anywhere in India as grid connected interstate and intrastate projects.
Mercom quoted an MSEDCL official to state that the tender attracted bids from only a 'few big players' since the conditions specified procuring wind turbines and solar modules from government approved list of models and manufacturers (see India PV News Snippets: MNRE, Borosil, GUVNL, PGCIL).
Both the winners will enter into 25-year power purchase agreements (PPA) with MSEDCL that had launched the tender in May 2021 (see 500 MW Wind-Solar Hybrid Power Tender By MSEDCL).
In October 2020, a report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) and JMK Research said by 2023, India's cumulative wind-solar hybrid (WSH) capacity is likely to grow to around 11.7 GW (see 11.7 GW: India's Wind-Solar Hybrid Capacity By 2023).
84 MW rooftop solar win for Tata Power
In another related development from India, Tata Power said it has been empaneled and won a contract for 84 MW rooftop solar project worth INR 4 billion ($53.6 million) from the Kerala State Electricity Board Limited (KSEBL), under the latter;s Soura Subsidy Scheme in Domestic Sector. It will implement projects across various state districts as 64 MW for individual households with capacities ranging between 3 kW to 10 kW, and 20 MW for residential/housing societies with capacities ranging from 11 kW to 100 kW.
Tata Power said it is required to complete the projects within 3 months of receiving an order from individual residential customers. On completion, it would generate 120 million units of clean energy annually. The company recently shared its roadmap for 2025 saying it will exit coal and renewables capacity to 15 GW (see India's Tata Power To Expand Renewables Capacity To 15 GW).