Gujarat calls off 500-MW PV auction amid high prices, uncertainty - report

Indian utility Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (GUVNL) has cancelled its recent 500-MW solar auction as the prices offered by bidders were too high, say Indian media reports.

Consultancy Mercom Capital in March said the lowest bid in the tender was of INR 2.98 (USD 0.046/EUR 0.037) per kWh for a 50-MW project by Kalthia Engineering and Construction, followed by an INR-3/kWh offer for 150 MW by Gujarat State Electricity Corporation (GSEC). An auction for 500 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) power capacity in 2017 attracted bids as low as INR 2.65/kWh.

Several Indian auctions in the past months have been hurt by uncertainty regarding the level of a safeguard duty that is expected to be imposed on solar panel imports. An official at GUVNL has told Mercom that the utility’s board has arrived at the conclusion that it is better to cancel the auction and wait for clarity regarding the duty. The board got involved in the first place because the tariffs quoted were too high and the worry is that developers have been calculating a safeguard duty in their offers.

Mercom said the latest auction got bids for just 1,590 MW, while the one in 2017 attracted 3,600 MW.

(INR 100 = USD 1.52/EUR 1.23)

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