Four companies have won the auction to supply Indian Railways with 1 GW of round-the-clock (RTC) power from grid-connected renewable power projects over a 25-year term. Sprng Energy, NTPC Renewable Energy, Ayana Power, and O2 Power were the winners. The projects will be implemented throughout India.
Sprng Energy won 100 MW capacity for ₹3.99/kWh, while NTPC and Ayana Power received 500 MW and 300 MW for ₹4.10/kWh, respectively. O2 Power was awarded the remaining 60 MW capacity at a rate of ₹4.27/kWh.
Developers are obliged to establish new projects and cannot supply from existing power plants. Indian Railways tender terms require at least 75% availability of project capacity over the first four years and at least 5% availability beginning in the fifth year.
According to the Indian Railways tender, developers have the option of building their own storage capacity or contracting it from third parties. Storage capacity supply will be considered towards the developers’ requirement under the procurement. The storage capacity, however, must be charged using renewable energy.
The bidding terms further state that developers must employ modules from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s Approved List of Models and Manufacturers. Wind turbines recognized by the Ministry under the Revised list of Models and Manufacturers must be utilized for wind energy projects.
According to a 2017 UNDP assessment, Indian Railways has the ability to install 3.9 gigawatts of land-based solar power capacity and 1.1 gigawatts of rooftop solar power capacity, meeting 25% of its electricity demands using renewable energy.
Reference- Livemint, Economic Times, PIB, Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), Down To Earth, Mercom India
