The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has issued a notice inviting tender (NIT) for a repeat of its previous 1200 MW tender for renewable generation plus guaranteed peak supply which was oversubscribed by 420 MW last time.
The previous SECI tender, which was eventually won by Greenko Group and Renew Power, with 900 MW and 300 MW allotments respectively, was hailed a huge move forward in making renewable energy a dependable partner for the national grid, by providing energy on demand through massive storage commitments.
Even in the proposed tender, like the previous one,the RE generating component could be either a solar photovoltaic (SPV) system or a wind energy system or a hybrid system of both technologies.
The tariff design is likely to have the same two-part tariffs option: Peak Tariff and Off-Peak Tariff.
Greenko had won the bid with a blended tariff rate of Rs 4.07, while Renew Power’s blended rate was Rs 4.30. Rates considered competitive with fossil fuel powered generation in India today.
The peak tariff rate (storage backed) of Greenko had been Rs 6.12, while for Renew, it was Rs 6.85. Greenko’s bid stood out for its use of pumped hydro as its storage option, while Renew stuck with battery storage.
The biggest challenge for these new storage backed tenders is the appetite among major players for such massive commitments.
The storage play usually involves a huge jump in total investment required, and both the previous winners have had the benefit of access to large dollops of debt and equity funding.
SECI informs us that details will be uploaded soon on the website of the agency.
Reference- Economic Times, Mercom India, livemint, Money Control
