GUVNL Awards 250 MW Solar Tender With Greenshoe Option At ₹2.60/kWh

GUVNL has recently concluded its 250 MW solar auction with a greenshoe option. These projects were awarded to three winners: Welspun Renewable Energy, Avaada Energy, and SAEL Industries. GUVNL issued the tender for this project in January 2025, and the results were announced within a record time of two months.

As per the tender announcements, GUVNL awarded the project to Welspun and Avaada, which secured 50 MW and 100 MW, respectively, at a tariff rate of ₹2.60/kWh. Another winner, SAEL, was allocated 100 MW out of its quoted capacity of 200 MW at the same tariff rate of ₹2.60/kWh under the bucket-filling method. The price is broadly in line with what was projected by experts, keeping bid costs higher than what might have been expected, mainly due to ALMM requirements.

Previous Tender: A Brief Comparison

Last year, GUVNL concluded its 500 MW grid-connected solar power project auction, which also included an additional 500 MW greenshoe option. In GUVNL’s Phase XXV auction, bids were allocated to S.B.B. Mouldings, Kintech Synergy, Enertech Fuel Solutions, Prozeal Green Energy, Ausom Enterprise, Drashta Green Power, and SAEL Industries.

As per the results,  GUVNL awarded projects at a tariff of ₹2.55/kWh to Prozeal, Kintech, Ausom, Enertech, S.B.B., and Drashta for 100 MW, 50 MW, 50 MW, 40 MW, 10 MW, and 10 MW, respectively. Meanwhile, SAEL secured 240 MW at ₹2.56/kWh under the bucket-filling method. Additionally, Kintech, Enertech, Drashta, and SAEL were awarded additional greenshoe capacities of 50 MW, 203 MW, 7 MW, and 240 MW, respectively.

However, compared to 2024, the tariff rate has decreased. Last year, the Gujarat-based KPI Green secured the lowest bid at ₹2.67/kWh for GUVNL’s 500 MW tender. Thus, its latest tender surpasses GUVNLS’s previous 500 MW auction concluded in 2024. Other winners of the project were, Avaada Energy (₹2.68/kWh), Solarcraft Power India – BluPine (₹2.69/kWh), Hinduja Renewables, and NRC Industries (₹2.72/kWh).

For SAEL Industries, the latest win at ₹2.60/kWh is comparatively better than its earlier win from SJVN, where the company secured the project at ₹2.52/kWh. Other winners in that auction included Acme Solar Holdings, Essar Renewables, Onward Solar Power, and NTPC Renewable Energy (NTPC REL), with an average tariff of ₹2.52/kWh. Under this tender, SJVN allocated 300 MW each to Acme Solar, Essar Renewables, and SAEL Industries at ₹2.52/kWh. Onward Solar secured 100 MW, while NTPC REL won 200 MW out of the 400 MW it bid for at ₹2.53/kWh, using the bucket-filling method.