E-Reverse PV Auction of India's NHPC Lures 3.1 GW of Bids

April 20  - Indian hydropower major NHPC (BOM:533098) last week completed a tender for 2,000 MW of grid-connected solar projects at tariffs as low as INR 2.55 (USD 0.033/EUR 0.031) per kWh.

The state-owned company carried out an e-reverse auction that attracted 3,140 MW of proposals from seven bidders, the government said in an official update. The lowest quoted tariffs of INR 2.55/kWh and INR 2.56/kWh were registered against initial tariff rates reaching as high as INR 2.78/kWh. The awarded capacity can be installed anywhere across India and has to be connected to the power network.

Commenting on the bidding, Union minister of Power and New & Renewable Energy R K Singh said in a Twitter post: “This tariff is the result of several measures which we have undertaken during the past few months to enhance confidence of investors and to promote ease of doing business.”

NHPC is a public sector undertaking under the Union Ministry of Power and the country's largest hydropower generation company. Its latest solar tender was finalised amid a complete lockdown environment caused by the global COVID-19 health crisis.