Adani Green Energy Ltd has won the world's largest solar bid. The group will be building a photovoltaic (PV) power plant of 8,000 MW and setting up a domestic solar panel manufacturing capacity of 2,000 MW with a total investment of roughly $6 billion.
Azure Power Global Limited also won a bid to build a PV project of 4,000 MW and solar kit manufacturing capacity of 1,000 MW under the offering of domestic manufacturing-linked solar power projects from state-run renewable energy agency SECI (formerly Solar Energy Corporation of India).
The SECI board has approved the project bids at a tariff of Rs 2.92 per unit arrived at through a reverse auction under the greenshoe in the tenders for the domestic manufacturing-linked projects, which closed in November 2019.
Key Highlights
• The domestic manufacturing-linked projects have a higher tariff ceiling of Rs 2.93 per unit against average Rs 2.60 for general projects.
• The reverse auction starts from a higher level, giving promoters fiscal headroom as the general winning rate for solar power hovers around Rs 2.50 per unit.
• The SECI also offers PPAs (power purchase agreements) for four times the offered size in case of manufacturing-linked projects.
• Adani Green had taken the lead in SECI’s manufacturing-linked solar tender last year by offering to set up a solar manufacturing capacity of 1,000 MW and a solar power project of 4,000 MW.
• On the other hand, Azure Power had opted to bid for a kit manufacturing capacity of 500 MW.
World’s Largest Solar Bid
The Adani Green group announced on June 9, 2020 that it had won the world's largest solar bid worth $6 billion. This is the first-of-its-kind manufacturing linked solar agreement that the company has won from the Solar Energy Corporation of India.
Under the project, the Adani Green Group will develop 8 GW of solar projects and establish 2 GW of additional solar cell and module manufacturing capacity.
Significance
The award, the largest of its type in the world, will involve a single investment of Rs 45,000 crore (USD 6 billion) and create 400,000 direct and indirect jobs. It is also expected to displace 900 million tonnes of carbon dioxide over its lifetime.
When will the solar projects be completed?
As per the award agreement, the 8 GW of solar development projects will be implemented over the next five years.
The first 2 GW of generation capacity will come online by 2022 and the subsequent 6 GW capacity will be added in 2 GW annual increments through 2025.
The solar cell and module manufacturing capacity of 2 GW will be established by 2022.
Impact
The projects will help solidify Adani Green Group’s position as India’s largest solar manufacturing facility. They will help accelerate its journey towards becoming the world’s largest renewables company by 2025.
The project awards are expected to take the company closer to its target of achieving an installed generation capacity of 25 GW of renewable power by 2025.
Where will the solar projects be set up?
The solar projects will cover a variety of locations, including a 2 GW single-site generation project that is tied for the rank of the largest single-site project announced globally.
The Adani Green Energy Group is expected to set up the facilities in Rajasthan and Gujarat. The Rajasthan government has already approved the company's proposal for setting up solar infrastructure at Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Jodhpur, Jalore and Barmer. Kutch is expected to be the preferred location in Gujarat.
Background
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had pledged during the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris that India would lead the Climate Change revolution and will fulfill the majority of its COP21 commitments, nine years ahead of the 2030 deadline.
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