Adani and Essel Groups are among the 13 energy majors that have bid for supplying grid connected 1,000 megawatt (mw) solar power to Uttar Pradesh.
UP New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA) had in April 2018 invited tariff based e-bids from companies for procuring 1,000 mw of solar energy under the new UP solar energy policy 2017.
Exhibiting enthusiasm in the state solar space, these companies submitted bids totalling 1,870 mw, thus oversubscribing e-bid by 87%. The bidding terms had allowed a bidder to submit more than one bid and to set up plants at different places.
The state has received 37 bids from 13 power companies, including Adani Group solar energy arm Mahoba Solar (UP) Private Limited, Acme Solar Holding Limited, Azure Power, Essel Infraprojects, ReNew Power, Refex Energy, Rays Power Infra, Sukhbir Agro Energy.
Acme has submitted the maximum 6 bids totalling 300 mw, followed by Azure with 5 bids totalling 300 mw. The top two contenders are trailed by ReNew (6 bids for 280 mw), Essel (5 bids for 250 mw), Mahoba Solar (5 bids for 250 mw) etc.
The evaluation process has already started. According to UP energy principal secretary Alok Kumar, once an individual bid satisfied technical parameters, their respective financial bid would be opened and further action taken on the basis of ‘reverse auctioning’ process.
The Yogi Adityanath government has projected investment of Rs 50 billion by the companies winning the bidding process in phase I to supply 1,000 mw solar power to state power utility UP Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) for the next 25 years.
Under UP solar energy policy 2017, the government is eyeing private investment of almost Rs 500 billion and ramping up solar energy capacity of 10,700 mw over the next 4-5 years. Of the targetted 10,700 mw, 6,400 mw would come from grid solar power projects, which would feed directly to the grid under power purchase agreement (PPA).
Meanwhile, the Adityanath government has already received investment proposals worth over Rs 728 billion pertaining to green energy sector at the UP Investors Summit 2018.
Interestingly, the green energy sector with 46 memorandum of understanding (MoU) worth Rs 728 billion stood second only to the infrastructure sector, which accounted for maximum Rs 1.80 trillion worth of MoUs signed during the two day summit on 21-22 February. The green energy sector investment proposals worth Rs 728 billion is almost 10 times compared to conventional energy sector, which managed only 76 billion worth of 11 MoUs.
Earlier, the government had announced it would draft an action plan to develop a Green Energy Corridor in Bundelkhand at an investment of about Rs 40 billion. At the same time, the state is taking steps to expand its thermal power capacity to meeting growing energy demand.
