Solar tariff reaches new low: 750 MW projects allocated under the latest batch of India's National Solar Mission

India has recently allocated 750 MW of solar power under the first batch of its National Solar Mission's second phase. The allocations were done through a reverse bidding mechanism, with projects seeking the minimum government funding getting shortlisted. With 2.1 GW installed within 3 years, this allocation signals steady progress made by India in achieving its clean energy targets.

Indian government body will purchase solar power for 25 years from 47 projects developed by private players, at a tariff of USD 0.09/kWh, one of the lowest in the world. To make these projects viable at these tariffs, Indian government will provide Viability Gap Funding (VGF) of a total of USD 200m, with an average of USD 267,000 per MW, thereby setting a new record of sorts for policy support to solar energy.

To promote local manufacturing, half of the projects are reserved for mandatory use of domestic content, whereas the remaining 375 are open to use international supplies as well. With separate biddings for the two categories, projects with domestic content have sought a total of USD 137m as VGF, whereas projects under the 'Open' category have sought half of the total amount.

EDF, the French utility major, has backed Indian project developer Acme Power, which has emerged as one of the biggest winners of the bidding process.

Headway Solar, a solar energy consulting firm based in Delhi, India, has released a brief report on the latest allocations. The report can be downloaded here: http://bit.ly/1ccocZ6

Established in 2011 and based in Delhi-NCR, Headway Solar provides consulting services, project development services and commercial solutions for the Indian solar market.

Headway Solar supports organisations in maximizing the gains from solar opportunity. Our team members have in-depth functional knowledge coupled with broad experience covering all the knowledge areas of solar energy - technology, finance, market, regulations and project management. An overarching understanding of the dynamics of the solar landscape has sharpened our analytical rigor, which places us suitably to provide consulting services to Indian and international organisations. Our services are strengthened by our up-to-date and comprehensive research and knowledge sources such as project & stakeholder databases, price indices, specialized modelling and analytics. Our market intelligence is sharpened by our network comprising of policy makers, investors, suppliers and experts.

Raveesh Budania
Headway Solar Pvt. Ltd.
http://headwaysolar.com/
First floor, 23 Bougainvillea Marg
DLF Phase 2, Gurgaon
Haryana India

This release was published on openPR.