Reliance NU Suntech, a subsidiary of Reliance Power, has bagged a 930 MW solar energy contract for battery energy storage system (BESS) project from Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) in an e-reverse auction held on December 9.
As per the terms of the tender, Reliance NU Suntech will also have to install a minimum storage capacity of 465 MW/1,860 MWh charged by solar power. A letter of award (LoA) is still awaited from SECI, the company said.
Reliance NU Suntech’s bid for SECI’s Tranche XVII auction was won at a tariff of Rs 3.53 ($0.0416)/kWh.
The company has secured the largest individual allocation out of the five companies vying for a total quoted capacity of 2,000 MW of Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) connected solar power projects with 1,000 MW/4,000 MWh energy storage systems, Reliance Power said.
The project will guarantee a peak power supply of four hours daily (or a four-hour discharge duration). SECI will enter into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Reliance NU Suntech for a period of 25 years and the solar power procured will be sold to multiple distribution companies (discoms) in India.
Reliance NU Suntech will develop the project on a build-own-operate basis and will have to connect to the interstate transmission system in compliance with Central Electricity Regulatory Commission regulations for interconnection with the ISTS or InSTS.