Small and mid-sized renewable energy developers in the country are increasingly bidding for solar power generation tenders, powered by freshly raised capital.

According to sources, the winner in the latest solar auction in the country was Rising Sun Energy, a small developer which bagged a 190MW project in an auction conducted by state-run power generator NTPC NSE 0.39 %.

Rising Sun Energy quoted a tariff of Rs 2.25 per unit for initiatives to be constructed in Nokh photo voltaic park in Rajasthan, sources cited earlier mentioned, including that the New Delhi-based firm beat competitors from a mixture of small, mid-sized and huge renewable power builders. The auction’s end result winner was introduced late final week.

Vinay Rustagi, managing director of Bridge To India, a renewable power consultancy agency, mentioned, “We continue to see strong interest from some of the smaller developers who have raised a lot of money. They are eager to win new projects in order to deploy capital.”

Email queries despatched to NTPC and Rising Sun Energy remained unanswered until as of press time.

The options of the Rajasthan auction may very well be likened to the one performed three months in the past by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), the nodal company by which the renewable power ministry conducts wind and photo voltaic auctions. Winners of that auction, too, need to construct initiatives in Rajasthan.

The profitable tariff in the November auction was Rs 2 per unit. The predominant distinction between the 2 auctions is that the SECI auction was for a non-solar park, that means initiatives will be constructed anyplace in Rajasthan.

“One reason for higher tariffs in the NTPC tender is that the cost of a solar park is typically 2-3 times higher than the total cost incurred by developers for land and transmission outside solar parks,” Rustagi mentioned.

Tariffs are anticipated to proceed shifting upwards as a result of module costs have been on the rise because the center of final 12 months. Modules account for 45-55% of the venture’s price.

“We expect a bit of caution in the short-term. Module prices have moved up by 15-20% in the last few months. It may be some time before the two rupee tariff is breached again,” Rustagi mentioned.

Solar tariffs reached a record-low of Rs 1.99 per unit in an auction performed by Gujarat in December.