Only 2 GW of SECI wind projects for 2017-18 come to commissioning - report

About 4 GW of the 6 GW of wind power projects that were awarded in tenders by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) in 2017-2018 have still not been brought online, the Economic Times reports.

Citing an unnamed official at the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), the newspaper wrote that only 1,961 MW of the tender winners in the specific period have been commissioned. The rest of the capacity remains unhooked to the grid in spite of the nearing or ending commissioning deadlines.

According to the government official, the main reasons for the delay are the lengthy permitting process and the Gujarat government’s initial reluctance to lease land to projects secured in SECI tenders. The COVID-19 pandemic was also a major setback factor, he added and expressed hopes for an extension of timelines. Wind power developers, meanwhile, have complained that the winning tariffs in some of the tranches are too low and already unviable, making lending challenging.

SECI has held four tender tranches in the period between 2018 and 2018. While only 277 MW have been put on stream from tranche 3, not a single project has been commissioned from the 2-GW tendered in tranche 4.

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