Solar Power plants are a source of cheap energy which could be utilized in lots of ways. According to reports, along with the crude oil which is on a slid right now; even the solar power tariffs have gone down. In the latest NTPC auction conducted in the desert state, Rajasthan confirms its most desired and attractive solar project destination in India with the price quote as low as Rs 4.3-4.36 per kwH.
130 MW was on offer out of which50 MW was won by Shapoorji Pallonji Infrastructure Capital and 60 MW by Mahindra Susten. They both have quoted an identical price of Rs 4.35 kWh for the electricity produced by them. The rest of 20 MW was won by Prayatna Developers of the Adani Group at Rs 4.36 per kWh.
In such reverse auctions, the bidder with the lowest offered price wins. The last auction held in January in Rajasthan was just a shade lower than the lowest price offered. It was won by Fortum Finnsurya with a bid of Rs 4.34 per kWh to win a 70 MW project. The land of the plant was ensured at Jodhpur at the Bhadla Solar Park, which has the highest solar radiation in the country. Whereas in the latest auction, no land is being provided, so the developers will have to find and develop the plant on their own which bounds them to keep the tariffs marginally high. In the last five auctions in the state of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the solar tariffs fell sharply at the reserve price of Rs 4.43 per kWh. So, it was mandatory to stop such aggressive bidding which had put the solar tariffs too low. The auction in Gujarat in the late June, for example, had attracted only 3 bidders.
But the latest auction in Rajasthan has belied those apprehensions. Not only has the tariff fallen, but also the interest shown was also enormous, with 21 developers, including many of the top names in the business, making bids.
This shows that Rajasthan tops the list because of its inherent solar advantage and the large amount of radiation it receives. This is the reason why Rajasthan has the highest solar installed capacity in the country, around 1,286 MW out of the total of 7,564.86 MW.
