SECI’s 1200 MW Tranche XI Wind Tender Sees Winning Bids at Rs 2.69/Unit

Wind Energy continues to charge up in 2021, with SECI’s Tranche XI tender attracting winning bids at Rs 2.69/unit. The winning firms this time were ReNew Power (300 MW), Sembcorp through its subsidiary Green Wind Infra Energy (180 MW), Evergreen Power through Anupavan Renewables (150 MW). Adani Green scooped up the largest parcel of 450 MW with its bid of Rs 2.70/unit, leaving 120 MW for Azure Power at the same price.

For ReNew power, the win follows a series of aggressive bids it has made, and won, over the past couple of months, as it builds up a strong pipeline for its aggressive growth targets.

The numbers matter here because the bids for Tranche X had been won at Rs 2.77. Industry experts and discom officials have repeatedly been stressing that wind can work only at prices around Rs 2.70/unit or lower in the present environment, just as they expect solar prices to stay within range of Rs 2.50. Discoms that we spoke to last month clarified that they donot see how they can justify a premium for wind of over 10 percent over solar, unless there are very compelling reasons.

Among the firms missing out, O2 Power had the closest bid at Rs 2.72/unit

For India’s wind industry, these auctions and the hope of quick PPA’s thanks to assured buyers is vital, to keep a steady pipeline of orders going. Keep in mind that domestic manufacturing in wind energy is much much better than for solar, and sustains a broader ecosystem of skilled workers. Manufacturers will be pulling out all stops to gran a share of orders from winners this year, as these orders will be delivered through 2023 with luck.

The winning group of firms is also interesting in that the smallest in the lack is the US multinational Evergreen Power. Though it did start operations in India. The rest all stand out for their presence in public markets today, with Renew joining the ranks last month. That means better access to funds, as we have already heard from both Adani Green and Azure in the past week itself.