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NLC Wins 449 MW In Tamil Nadu Tender

Nearly One Third Of 1.5 GW TANGEDCO Tender Goes To Indian Mining Company NLC; Smaller Player Offers Lowest Tariff

Anu Bhambhani
  • NLC India, a state-backed mining company, has been awarded 449 MW of solar power capacity in Tamil Nadu's 1,500 MW solar power project tender
  • The lowest tariff of 3.47 INR ($0.0536) per kWh was quoted by Raasi Green Earth Energy for 100 MW capacity
  • The tariffs quoted for the tender ranged between 4.00 INR ($0.0618) and a minimum of  3.47 INR per kWh
  • Several small players had shown interest in the tender while a number of regulars  in the Indian solar power auction circuit were missing this time
  • With considerable differences among the winning bids, the agency will now negotiate with bidders to bring down their rates toward the lowest offered tariff, including NLC India, as per reports

Tamil Nadu's 1,500 MW solar power project tender saw solar power tariffs coming down to 3.47 INR ($0.0536) per kWh. At this tariff, Raasi Green Earth Energy won 100 MW capacity. As per daily newspaper The Times of India, Raasi will be setting up the plant at Paramakudi in Ramanthapuram district of the state.  

The tariffs offered in the tender ranged from 3.47 INR ($0.0536) up to 4.00 ($0.0618) per kWh. This is the first solar power tender result post the roll out of India's ambitious Goods and Services Tax (GST) under which the government has placed solar power equipment under a 5% tax bracket (see GST Rate For Solar Now 5%).

"We are happy with the tariffs quoted, we knew due to GST rate implementation we would not get a Bhadla tariff rate of 2.44 INR ($0.03772)/unit. Even 3.47 INR ($0.05364)/unit is revolutionary for Tamil Nadu," a Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited (TANGEDCO) official was quoted by market intelligence firm Mercom Capital Group.

The biggest chunk of the capacity tendered was awarded to state-owned mining company NLC India, which won 449 MW, even though it had bid for the entire capacity, according to local business daily ETEnergyworld. But at 3.97 INR ($0.0613) per kWh it price was in the upper range of the winning bids.

Nearly one third of the capacity tendered was awarded to state-owned mining company NLC India, which won 449 MW, even though it had bid for the entire 1500 MW capacity, according to Mercom .

Now, TANGEDCO will negotiate with other than the lowest bidder to bring down their rates. "Only those that match our conditions will be considered," stated a senior TANGEDCO official speaking with The Times of India. "NLC has bid for the entire capacity of 1,500 MW. After the lowest bid was known, NLC has expressed its willingness to match it. They propose to set up the park in land reclaimed from mines."

TANGEDCO officials were contacted for the story, but not answer was received before publication of this article.

A number of small players had bid for the tender while many of the big names stayed away. Sai Jyothi Infrastructure Ventures Private Limited bid for 54 MW, Solitaire BTN Solar Private Limited for 150 MW, Narbheram Vishram and NVR Energy Private Limited bid for 100 MW each.

Rays Power Infra quoted 3.85 INR ($0.0595) per kWh to develop 200 MW, while ReNew Solar Energy Rajasthan Limited had quoted 3.89 INR ($0.0601) per kWh for 100 MW. Clean Power Solar Ludiana Private Limited quoted 3.90 INR ($0.0602) per kWh for 104 MW, according to Mercom.

TANGEDCO had launched the tender in May 2017 with an upper tariff limit of 4.00 INR ($0.0618) per kWh (see TANGEDCO Tenders 1.5 GW PV Capacity). The tender was oversubscribed by almost 150% (see Tamil Nadu Receives Bids For 3.7 GW).