WIND POWER TARIFF HITS RECORD LOW OF ~3.42 A UNIT

Wind power project tariff hit a record low of ~3.42 a unit,

six months after the first auction for the renewable energy projects. In a project bidding held by Tamil Nadu on Tuesday for 500 Mw of wind power projects, three firms have been selected to set up 900-Mw projects. Regen Power Tech won 250 Mw at the lowest quoted tariff of ~3.42 a Mw, followed by Leap Green Energy, which bid 250 Mw at ~3.43 a unit. SHREYA JAI reports

Wind power project tariff hit a record low of ~3.42 a unit, six months after the first auction for the renewable energy projects. In a project bidding held by Tamil Nadu on Tuesday for 500 Mw of wind power projects, three companies have been selected to set up 900-Mw projects.

Regen Power Tech won 250 Mw at the lowest quoted tariff of ~3.42 a Mw. This was followed by F1 racer N Karthikeyan-promoted Leap Green Energy, which bid 250 Mw at ~3.43 a unit. Neyveli Lignite Limited won 400 Mw at ~3.45 a unit. These tariffs are fixed for 25 years.

All the three bidders qualified to put up projects as Tamil Nadu had put a tariff ceiling of ~3.46 a unit. Anyone bidding below it would have qualified to set up a power project.

In the first wind auction, held in February by central agency Solar Energy Corporation of India, the discovered tariff was ~3.46 a unit.

According to the tender document for the Tamil Nadu projects, the wind power generator can decide on the location. The developer would have to construct power evacuation infrastructure till the nearest sub-station. Project developers have 10 months from the date of signing of power purchase agreements to finish construction. The bids received were extremely lower than the current average feed-intariff (FiT) of ~5 per unit in the wind sector.