Companies offer to build 4,981-Mw capacity

The largest tender for solar projects in the country to build 2,000 Mw capacity in Telangana saw aggressive bids from sector majors offering to build as much as 4,981-Mw capacity. The lowest bidder turned out to be Mauritius-based SkyPower South East Asia Investments, which quoted Rs 5.17 a unit for a 50-Mw project.

SkyPower was the lowest bidder in the 300-Mw solar power project tender floated by Madhya Pradesh last month, taking the price to a historic low of Rs 5.05 a unit. In Telangana, it has put four bids of 50 Mw each.

US solar major SunEdison bid for the largest tranche of projects, totalling 580 Mw, by putting 26 bids in the range of Rs 5.93-6.23 a unit.

Delhi-based Acme Power bid for projects totalling 510 Mw. It bid through three separate entities and put 17 bids ranging from Rs 6.21 to Rs 5.7 a unit. Adani Power put six bids for projects totalling 492 Mw with quotes in the range of Rs 6.1 to Rs 6.3 a unit.

Marking its debut in the solar space, wind energy major Suzlon Energy put seven bids for projects of 260 Mw. The bids by Suzlon were aggressive and touched Rs 5.49 a unit. Another wind sector player, Mytrah Energy, put 18 bids for projects of 350 Mw.

"The Telangana bids at the back of the ones received in Madhya Pradesh reaffirm that the new normal price for solar is Rs 5-5.5 per unit. Even more heartening is to see pure wind players such as Suzlon and Mytrah putting aggressive bids for solar projects indicating that solar has arrived," said Rupesh Agarwal, partner, BDO India.

Sumant Sinha-promoted Renew Power bid for projects totalling 400 Mw for four large-scale projects. A leading player in the Indian solar space, the company's bids ranged from Rs 6.44 to Rs 5.67 a unit - with low price for large projects.

Bridge To India, a consultancy firm monitoring foreign investment in Indian renewable energy space, said, "Competition remains intense because of increasing appetite of existing players and the entry of many new players. We expect this trend to continue as the sector continues to attract further players and project sizes grow resulting in more efficient procurement."