Solar power tariff discovered through auctions hit a new low on Wednesday with NTPC Ltd’s 250 mega watt (MW) project at Kadapa in south-central Andhra Pradesh getting awarded for a flat Rs3.15 per unit.
According to Livemint, an NTPC official said that the project was awarded to the Indian arm of French clean energy firm Solairedirect SA. Solairedirect Energy India Pvt. Ltd already has 182 MW of projects in India including 97 MW in operation and 85MW under construction.
Power, coal, mines and new and renewable energy minister Piyush Goyal tweeted on Wednesday that solar tariff achieved another record low at a flat Rs3.15 a unit during the Kadapa auction by NTPC.
The previous low was Rs3.3 a unit levelised tariff recorded when the 750 MW project at Rewa in Madhya Pradesh was auctioned by Rewa Ultra Mega Power Ltd in February. Levelised tariff indicates the average fixed and variable tariff over the entire term of the power purchase agreement.
Solar power tariff has been declining on account of sharply declining prices of solar panels, better structuring of the project that reduces risk for project developers and better currency hedging deals that make financing available at competitive cost.
