• MNRE Secretary Anand Kumar says India will need to auction 30 GW of solar power capacity annually till 2028 to meet 350 GW of solar by 2030
  • Another 10 GW of wind power capacity will be auctioned annually till 2028
  • India’s Government is evaluating the pros and cons of reverse auction based bidding mechanism versus sealed bids
  • IIM Lucknow is supposed to submit its report on the bidding mechanism by July 2018, based on which the government will take a call

The Government of India will bid out 30 GW of PV annually till 2028 to be able to have an installed capacity of 350 GW of solar by 2030. In the roadmap that the Minister heading the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) RK Singh detailed in December 2017 for renewable energy, there was a plan to issue bids for 30 GW each in financial years 2018-19 and 2019-20 (see India 20 GW Tender Roll Out Start In December).

Now, MNRE Secretary Anand Kumar has said that wind power bidding will be an additional 10 GW every year for the next 10 years until 2028. In all, India’s power demand by 2030 is expected to be 862 GW, of which 490 GW is expected to come from renewables.

Kumar was interacting with local media during Global Wind Day celebration organized by the Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association (IWTMA). “We have to do 350 GW in solar (to meet demand by 2030), of which 100 GW is planned till 2022. So we have to bid out at least 30 GW each year from 2020 onwards to achieve additional 250 GW,” said Kumar, according to Press Trust of India (PTI).

Recently, Singh announced the country’s plans to issue a single solar power bid for 100 GW at one go.

 At the end of March 2018, India’s total installed solar power capacity was 21.65 GW, according to MNRE (see India Touches 21.6 GW Cumulative PV Capacity). This number, according to clean energy consultancy Bridge to India was 24.2 GW (see PV In India Reaches 24.4 GW By March 2018).

This tender spree for capacity addition will allow plenty of opportunity to domestic renewable energy equipment makers and project developers to grow as well, explained Kumar. Going forward, the government will try to experiment with the bidding mechanism. Most bidding of renewable energy as of now is based on reverse bidding, wherein capacity is awarded through an auction to the lowest bid offered. The bidding is done openly allowing bidders to outbid each other.

Kumar added that the government is considering a sealed bidding option, which is when companies seal the offer and present it to the contracting agency; the lowest bidder is awarded the contract.

 MNRE has engaged the services of Indian Institute Management (IIM) to prepare a detailed report on the merits of both the bidding mechanisms. Post their report, expected in July 2018, the government will take the final call.