• 6 Winners in National Thermal Power Corporation's 500 MW tender in Karnataka
  • Except for Fortum Corporation, all other companies were from India that were awarded in NTPC's reverse auction for the Pavagada Solar Park
  • Adani Power, Tata Power Renewable, ACME and Fortum won 100 MW each; Yarrow Infrastructure and Renew Power won 50 MW each
  • The tariffs for these projects are very low - reaching under 5 INR per kW
  • The projects will come up in the Tumkur district of the Indian state under Batch II, Tranch I of JNNSM Phase II

India’s National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) recently announced that six companies have won the auction for its 500 MW Pavagada Solar Park in Karnataka. Four companies won 100 MW each for a tariff of 4.79 INR per kWh (7.20 US ct), the remaining capacity was awarded at 50 MW each for a tariff of 4.78 INR per kWh and 4.80 INR per kWh.

According to Indian news site Mint, ACME Group, Adani Power, Tata Power Renewable and Fortum Corporation each won 100 MW; the four bids were awarded at 4.79 INR per kWh. Private power generator, RattanIndia’s solar arm Yarrow Infrastructure Ltd. won a 50 MW capacity for a power tariff of 4.78 INR per kWh, while the remaining capacity of 50 MW was won by another Indian company Renew Power for 4.80 INR per kWh, reported Indian newspaper Business Standard. The power purchase agreements are for a period of 25 years.

Fortum from Finnland, the only non-Indian winner in this tender, arleady owns 15 MW solar capacity in India. In January, Fortum made headlines after winning 70 MW of solar capacity in a 420 MW auction by NTPC in Rajasthan for a record low tariff of 4.34 INR per kWh over 25 years. “Fortum seeks to allocate of its planned growth capital in the range of €200 to €400 million in solar projects in India,” said Fortum India Managing Director, Sanjay Aggarwal.

The reverse bid auction was conducted by NTPC on April 12, 2016 under Batch II, Tranch I of the Indian Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) Phase II. The projects will be built at the state-owned utility NTPC owned Pavagada Solar Park in Tumkur district of Karnataka.