IOC, Punj Lloyd, Reliance Power close to winning solar projects
New Delhi   21-Nov-2010

IndianOil, Punj Lloyd, Mahindra Solar, and Reliance Power's Rajasthan SunTechnique, are among the companies that are one step closer to winning projects under the first phase of the National Solar Mission for developing 620 MW of solar projects.

These are among the companies offering the best discount on Central Electricity Regulatory Commission's (CERC) notified tariff.

The average discount offered on CERC tariff was Rs 5.75 a unit for solar photovoltaic (PV) and Rs 3.82 a unit for thermal. The CERC rates for 2010-11 are Rs 17.91 (normal rate of depreciation), Rs 14.96 (accelerated rate of depreciation) a unit for PV and Rs 15.31 a unit for solar-thermal.

“We are examining the bank guarantees offered by the shortlisted project developers based on the discounts they have offered. Once the evaluation process is completed, we are targeting December to issue letters of intent to the qualified project developers,” a senior NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd (NVVN) official told Business Line.

PPAS

NVVN is hoping to conclude the power purchase agreements (PPAs) with the winners by January 2011. On November 16, NVVN, a wholly owned subsidiary of NTPC, opened bids for around 300 solar photovoltaic and 66 thermal projects.

Also in the fray are Welspun Solar, Oswal Woollen, Azure Power, Maharasthra Seamless, Lanco, CCCL Infrastructure, Godavari Power & Ispat, and Corporate Ispat Alloy.

NVVN invited bids for developing 150 MW of solar PV projects with a capacity of 5 MW each and 470 MW of solar thermal projects, with a minimum capacity of 5 MW and maximum of 100 MW each.

Among the top 30 bids received for PV projects, Rajasthan has got bids for a total capacity of 105 MW.

Andhra Pradesh has attracted bids for three projects with a total capacity of 15 MW, while Karnataka has received bids for two projects having a combined capacity of 10 MW.

Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa and Tamil Nadu, have received bids for one project each having a capacity of 5 MW.

For solar thermal, Rajasthan has received five bids — three for 100 MW and two of 50 MW each, totalling 400 MW. While Andhra Pradesh has received one bid for 50 MW, Gujarat has one bid for 20 MW capacity.

“With companies from good background participating in the bids, confidence is high that the solar mission will achieve its target,” the official said.