2500 MW Auction to Source Power Canceled

• The 2500 MW solar installation auction to provide power over three years has been canceled due to a perceived lack of interest from power utilities owned by the state.

The bid to for the 2500 MW auction was cancelled as a result of interest from state-owned power utilities. This shouldn’t be a consolation, because the same utilities are more likely to accept the project for a price near RS 4.20. Which is a price that the majority of renewable power developers dream about. This doesn’t end there.

Designed to help stranded thermal plants that have had to deal with issues of fuel agreements without power purchase agreement, the auction was expected to help these energy installations get PPA’s according to their deals at the bid price. Even though the initiative (Pilot Scheme -2) stays in abeyance, its previous version (Pilot scheme 1), which was aggregated by NHPC had a price of RS 4.24. It is at this rate that power purchase agreements for 1900 MW projects were signed back in October.

The numbers mentioned here show that the government will continue to be guided by factors that exceed the growth and quality of the power renewable sector, or its green commitments, regarding energy development and usage. With massive investments stuck in thermal energy, and the availability of coal, this combination will keep getting preference as the politically feasible option for the near future.

Considering the threat of defaults in the banking system, thermal power producers, won’t be in a hurry to return the loans they have been granted.