India finds $0.068/kWh tariff for peak renewable power

A price of INR 5.99 ($0.068)/kWh has emerged for four-hour assured peak renewable power in India. The figure was found by the Solar Energy Corp. of India, or SECI, in a tender designed to procure clean electricity for periods when demand is highest.

The FDRE-IX tender covered 1,500 MW from renewable energy projects connected to India’s interstate transmission system, known as ISTS. Waaree Energies won 700 MW at INR 5.99/kWh, while NTPC Renewable Energy Ltd. won 500 MW and ACME Solar won 300 MW, both at INR 6/kWh.

The tender adds a time-specific product to SECI’s renewable procurement. It follows a tariff discovery of INR 5.25/kWh for renewable energy round-the-clock power, or RE-RTC. The available information does not describe the technical mix behind the projects; it establishes the tariff and the contracted capacity sought through the bidding process.

SECI managing director Akash Tripathi said the result shows that renewable energy can be “green, firm, reliable and affordable” during peak demand hours. He said the changing prices point to evolving economics for renewable energy and storage, and to new ways of meeting India’s growing electricity demand with clean power.

So what changes in practice? Distribution companies have a tender price for renewable electricity assured across four-hour peak periods, rather than only an energy source whose availability may vary. The award is still a procurement result: the sources do not say that the power is already in service, and they provide no independent test of delivery under real-world peak conditions.