MP govt awards contracts for cheapest solar power
The Indian Railways will tie up with a Madhya Pradesh governmentowned entity to buy power from solar parks in the state but will draw it from the grid connectivity in seven states.
Rewa Ultra Mega Solar (RUMSL) signed a letter of award on Wednesday for 1,500 Mw of solar power from Agar, Shajapur and Neemuch parks.
NTPC Renewable Energy, Avaada Energy, Beempow Energy, Talettutayi Solar, TP Soaurya and Aljomaih have bagged capacities in these three parks.
The state discovered the lowest tariff of ~2.140 a unit (kilowatt/hour) so far after applicability of the basic customs duty (BCD) regime. This was for Unit-2 of Neemuch solar park. For the other two units of Neemuch solar park, tariffs were ~2.149 for Unit-1 and ~2.15 for Unit-3.
Tariffs for Shajapur solar park were ~2.35 and ~2.33 for Unit-1 and Unit-2, respectively. Further, tariffs for Agar solar park were ~2.459 and ~2.444 for Unit-1 and Unit-2, respectively. The state is looking to float more tenders for hybrid power projects and bring in a new policy for green energy. The railways enjoys waiver of interstate transmission system (ISTS) charges that are levied when an entity buys power generated outside a particular state. This will help in central funding for setting up a sub-station at the site. “It will socialise the cost of drawing power across all the seven states and the developers will also not need to invest in the sub-station,” Sanjay Dubey, principal secretary, new and renewable energy, told Business Standard.
The three parks would result in savings of over ~7,600 crore to power distribution companies of the state in 25 years, he said.
Power generated from these parks would be procured by power distribution companies of Madhya Pradesh (1,305 Mw) and the railways (195 Mw). The parks are expected to get commissioned and start generating electricity by March 2023. “We
have possession of 95 per cent of land. That brings certainty. The environmental and social impact studies were done by the World Bank and this brings investor confidence,” said Dubey.
India is a natural market available to global solar investors. According to Dubey, the scale here is huge because of the Union government’s roadmap. So, global players know that “if they do not enter the Indian market this time, they will miss the bus.” Though there is capital available
across the country, Madhya Pradesh got cheaper tariffs despite having lower insulation than Rajasthan and Gujarat because of the project structuring, he added.
The state has also gone to the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission to get its petition approved even though the model bidding document of the Centre did not require it. Madhya Pradesh is also looking to float more tenders for hybrid power projects and bring in a new policy for green energy.