Andhra Pradesh State Power Distribution Company (APSPDCL) has reportedly refused to sign a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) in India for a 250 MW PV project.
French energy company Engie's subsidiary Solairedirect had won the 250 MW project at Kadapa Solar Park in Andhra Pradesh with a tariff of 3.15 INR ($0.0487) per kWh. But APSPDCL is not interested in buying the power at that rate.
Speaking to Mercom Capital Group, an official of New and Renewable Energy Development Agency of Andhra Pradesh (NREDCAP) said that Andhra Pradesh has a power surplus and that it doesn't need to buy power at this rate. He said that NTPC has been informed and is now looking for power offtaker for the project. In return, APSPDCL has agreed to evacuate power from the project for free.
As for NTPC's version, it argues that states are getting 'greedy'. With solar tariffs having come down as low as 2.44 INR ($0.034) per kWh for ground-mounted systems in the recent Bhadla Solar Park Phase III, states are not interested in buying power at 'expensive' rates (see ACME Wins 200 MW At 2.44 INR Record). Recently, Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) even received another record tariff of 2.20 INR ($0.034) per kWh for its 500 MW solar rooftop tender (see New Record Low Tariff of 2.20 INR/kWh in India).
The Kadapa Solar Park was recently in the news when SECI cancelled a solar tender for 650 MW capacity in the park owing to falling solar tariffs (see SECI Cancels Nearly 1 GW Tender Capacity).
.png?w=50&fm=png){kind=logo}