Telangana to increase number of solar power plants

Hyderabad: The Telangana government has decided to increase the number of solar plants in the state after receiving encouraging response from bidders to a tender called in May.

The state government had requested bids for 2,000 MW but qualified bidders proposed to develop 4,623 MW for as low as ₹ 5.17 per unit. A total of 184 companies showed interest in the tender. The state government identified 85 qualified bidders.

Solar power producer Acme Group on Tuesday said it won 446MW at a weighted average tariff of ₹ 5.84, garnering 22% of the initial 2,000 MW tender. California-based SunPower Corp. has won a bid for 200 MW, Telangana energy secretary Arvind Kumar said.

The government is evaluating the bids location-wise to identify successful bidders. “We are deciding location wise and will take time depending upon location-wise lowest bid,” Kumar said.

Project capacities can vary from 2 MW to 150 MW, according to tender documents.

Hero Solar Energy Pvt. Ltd., First Solar Power India Pvt. Ltd., Reliance CleanGen Ltd. (a subsidiary of Reliance Power Ltd), Suzlon Energy Ltd., Adani Green Energy Ltd., Mytrah Energy (I) Ltd., Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd., Shapoorji Pallonji Group, and Renew Solar Power Pvt. Ltd. are among the qualified bidders, according to a document posted on the Telangana power utility’s website.

Solar power generation has emerged as a hot destination for investors after the union government announced its intention to generate 100 GW of solar energy and 60 GW of wind energy by 2022. In line with the union government’s plans to increase the share of renewables in the country’s energy mix (dominated currently by coal-fired power plants), various state governments are actively embracing solar energy to meet their power requirements.

Telangana, a power deficit state after its bifurcation from Andhra Pradesh, is relying on solar energy to power its homes, factories and farmlands, while it builds thermal power stations.

“The success of the largest solar power tender in India reflects the country’s focus towards solar power,” Manoj Kumar Upadhyay, founder & chairman of ACME Group said in a statement. “The emergence of Acme Solar in the bid has further strengthened our position as the leading solar power producer in the country with more than 1 GW projects in the pipeline.”

Acme will sign power purchase agreement (PPA) with Telangana’s utilities to develop solar power projects at 18 locations in the state by December 2016. The PPA will last for 25 years from the date the power plant is commences commercial operations.

The latest tender is the second round of the state government’s solar push. Solar power plants totalling 800 MW are being installed across the state and would supply power from March 2016.