Uttar Pradesh government has canceled the auction for solar project and is seeking for re-bidding. The reason for this cancellation is the high solar tariff of Rs 3.48 per unit for 1,000 MW at the auction conducted by the Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA).
Total 13 companies participated in this reverse auction for grid-connected solar projects on July 10. Mahoba Solar quoted the lowest tariff of Rs 3.48/kWh to develop 250 MW of projects. ACME Solar Holdings secured the largest capacity by bidding at Rs 3.54/kWh for 150 MW of solar PV projects. Maheshwari Mining & Energy (MMEPL) also quoted Rs 3.48/kWh to develop 20 MW. Other companies like, Rays Power Infra, EDEN Renewables, Azure Power, Feynman, and Hero Solar also participated in the auction.
Chairman of UPPCL Alok Kumar said to Financial Express, “the state government as well as the SECI feel that the tariff is very high, and so the UPNEDA should go in for re-bidding. We think we can discover tariffs between `3.05 and rs 3.10/kWh.”
“NSEFI has apprehension that the government of Uttar Pradesh may not honour the bidding process… even through a transparent bid process followed, which saw overwhelming participation,” the association’s letter to the state energy minister said, adding that there shouldn’t be any comparison as tariff varies from state to state based on various bid factors.
