SECI concludes world's biggest renewables-plus-storage tender at Rs4.04/ kWh

• Pumped hydro and battery tasks, paired with renewables, use the world's lowest peak clean electricity tariff. The tender, which got quotes for 1.62 GW of capacity against the 1.2 GW looked for, saw Greenko protect 900 MW of pumped storage capability and Restore Power 300 MW of battery storage.

Thermal power has had its day in India, the head of a nationwide PV trade body has claimed after the Solar power Corporation of India (SECI) concluded what it called the world’& rsquo; s biggest renewables-plus-energy-storage capability tender.

The procurement workout was held to contract 1.2 GW of capacity in the type of guaranteed supply of 600 MW of clean power for 6 hours daily throughout peak need hours –-- 5.30-9.30 am and 5.30pm-12.30 am –-- on a day-ahead, on-demand basis. The successful bids consisted of a minimum of 3 GWh of energy storage capability –-- pumped hydro or battery storage –-- plus associated clean energy generation properties.

The tender was staged to protect dependable, fixed-price energy supply for state electrical energy distribution companies otherwise hidebound to the vagaries of spot markets.

The procurement round was oversubscribed, with quotes received for 1.62 GW of capacity and Hyderabad-based developer Greenko secured 900 MW of pumped-storage job capability with the most competitive tariff bid for the clean energy to be supplied. Greenko offered a weighted typical tariff of Rs4.04/ kWh and a quoted peak tariff of Rs6.12/ kWh.

Haryana-based ReNew Power protected the remaining 300 MW of capacity with a weighted typical quote of Rs4.30 and quoted peak price of Rs6.85, marking a world record for renewables-plus-battery storage capability.

For the renewable resource provided during off-peak hours, SECI will pay a pre-specified tariff of Rs2.88/ KWh. The tariffs given will be paid over a 25-year duration.

The Indian federal government has actually mandated all electrical power distribution companies to source a minimum of 21% of their energy from renewables by 2021-22 and has actually stated grid operators will not incur transmission charges or losses on tidy power.

“& ldquo; With this, thermal power in India has actually become priced out,” & rdquo; said Pranav R Mehta, chairman of the National Solar Energy Federation of India. “& ldquo; The most recent thermal power tenders in the country have yielded levelized tariffs in the range of Rs5-7/ kWh ($0.0694-0.0972) at 85% annual PLF [plant load element –-- a measurement of the output of a power plant compared to its maximum generation capacity] The peak tariff under this SECI tender is highly competitive vis-à-vis the current peak tariffs in worldwide markets like [the] U.S.A. (Rs8-9/ kWh or $0.1111-0.125).

“& ldquo; This is also lower than the recent stressed out thermal projects tender carried out by [state-owned power trading business] PTC, where the tariff discovered was Rs4.24/ kWh ($0.0589) for only [a] three-year supply [contract], whereas the tariff discovered under this tender is repaired for 25 years.

“& ldquo; With the peak time-of-day tariffs ending up being a growing number of pronounced in India, these found tariffs will be value accretive for DISCOMs [electrical power circulation business], and are already much lower than the ever-increasing business and commercial consumer tariffs in India.”