Disparity in tariff offers to developers of solar power projects may derail the government’s ambitious Jawaharlal Nehru Solar Power Mission-2022, with many state nodal agencies, responsible in facilitating green energy generation, objecting to more financial outgo towards 80 mw of solar photo voltaic (PV) generation.
The government awarded 150 mw of solar PV projects to 30 developers (5mw each) to kick off the solar mission, which is envisaged to generate 20,000 mw of solar PV power by 2022. But the generation tariff offered to the 30 developers range between Rs 10.95 and Rs 12.00 per unit against an earlier offer of Rs 17.91 per unit to 16 developers to generate 80 mw of solar PV power.
SP Gon Chaudhuri, managing director, West Bengal Green Energy Development Corporation, said many states have objected to this tariff disparity.
The government would pay at least Rs 1 lakh crore more to developers of 80 mw projects vis-a-vis developers of 150 mw projects, Gon Chaudhuri said.
The ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) allocated the 80 mw projects prior to adopting the bidding route for allocating 150 mw and even before the announcement of the solar power mission. But the government has included the 80 mw within the mission’s generation target and so it gets two sets of developers to get two sets of preferential feed in tariffs.
According to Gon Chaudhuri, the government (through NTPC Vidyut Vapyar Nigam Ltd) has agreed to buy the generated power for 25 years, which means that every year, it will pay around Rs 4,000 crore more to the set of 16 developers generating 80 mw.
?This bidding process has actually been a tariff discovery mechanism, which the Union government could have done earlier even before allocating a single mega watt of solar PV project and this could have saved the government exchequer a large amount,? Gon Chaudhuri said.
But Sourav Sen, director of the US based Astonfield Renewables Ltd, which will implement a 5 mw solar PV projcet at Osiyan in Rajasthan (comes under the 80 mw category) felt that most of the players who have got the projects through bidding would not be able to implement since the tariff discovered were bound to put the developers at losses. Most of the players who have won the bids have never been into any type of power business and with least idea about project implementation and generation cost, these investors have gone on to become the lowest bidders.
? In fact, there was no technical criteria to bid for the project and while everyone could bid anyone could get,? Sen said adding that the real players have been demanding a feed in tariff of Rs 19 per unit but the Rs 10.95 and Rs 12.00 per unit tariff discovered was absurd.
?Many, who have got the projects, are now willing to sell off to the serious players realising that there would be no ROI ( return on investment),? Sen said.
He said the government has banned importing solar modules, and all developers (developing 150mw+80mw) have been asked to use only Indian modules with a view to keep the approximate Rs 4,000 crore business within the Indian market.