AP energy corp finalises bids for 5.8gw solar power plants

State-owned Andhra Pradesh GreenEnergy Corporation Limited on Thursday said it finalised bidsfor development of 5,800 MW solar power plants with successfulbidders, including the NTPC and Adani Renewable Energy HoldingTwelve Limited.

The tariffs for supply of power ranged Rs 2.47 per kWh toRs 2.49 kWh, it said.

Besides NTPC (600 MW) and Adani (2,400 MW), Torrent Power(300 MW), Shirdi Sai Electricals (2,200 MW) and HES Infra (300MW) emerged as the successful bidders, the corporation said ina release.

However, the bid received from Adani for development of a600 MW unit in Prakasam district was not finalised yet.

''As the tariff is higher at Rs 2.58 per kWh, thecommittee is examining whether such a high-priced bid shouldbe accepted, the release said.

If this bid was also accepted, the total generatingcapacity will increase to 6,400 MW.

The state government proposed to develop solar energyparks at various locations on build-operate-transfer basis toproduce 10,000 MW of power, to be utilised for theagricultural sector needs.

In the first phase, the corporation invited tenders fordevelopment of 6,400 MW of solar power at 10 locations inPrakasam, Kadapa, Kurnool and Anantapuramu districts andreceived 24 bids.

The average power procurement cost was now close to Rs5.2 per kWh, on account of the power purchase agreementssigned during the previous regime, it said.

The previous TDP government executed PPAs to procure largequantities of solar power at tariffs ranging from Rs 5.25 perkWh to Rs 5.90 per kWh during 2014-2017, it claimed.

The corporation said the ''low tariff'' of Rs 2.48 per kWhnow quoted would result in a saving of about Rs 3,800 crore inthe first year and could further increase over the years astariffs would remain constant for the next 30 years.

But the cost associated with power from other sources waslikely to go up, it added.