MNRE 'in principle' decides to end e-reverse auction of wind energy projects

Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) has taken a decision in principle to stop e-reverse auction of wind energy projects in the country in view of the industry demand, a senior official said on Thursday.

A formal decision in this regard will be taken shortly, the official stated.

The wind turbine makers industry has been pressing the government to get rid of e-reverse auction of wind energy projects in India to facilitate faster development in the country.

Under reverse auction, sellers bid for the prices at which they are willing to sell their goods and services.

Speaking at CII conference 'India@2030: A Roadmap for Aatmanirbhar Bharat in Renewable Energy', Union New & Renewable Energy Secretary Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi said,''I can say with confidence the e-reverse auction arrangement (for wind energy projects) has in principle been decided to be ended. A formal decision will follow soon.'' Chaturvedi explained that there has been consistent demand from the industry to change the bidding framework for wind energy projects so that greater capacity (addition) takes place in the the wind energy sector.

''Wind sector has been an issue. On the one hand we see good demand for wind energy and on the other hand we see project languishing. So, I think that point needs to be recognised and bidding structure and the whole dispensation needs be relooked at. We have already done that,'' he stated.

Earlier, Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association (IWTMA) Chairman Tulsi Tanti had reportedly said reverse auctions for wind energy projects have made it unviable to set up such projects in five of the seven windy states in the country.

''The tariff rates which arise from bids under the reserve wind auctions in India only make it viable for projects to be set up in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, which are typically high power load factor states for wind energy in India,'' Tanti had said.

He had also suggested that the centralised bidding for wind power projects by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has taken small investors out of the market and the opportunity to increase green energy generation was lost during the past several years.

About the grandfathering issue, Chaturvedi said, ''The ministry has been trying to move forward with it. We have been trying to persuade the finance ministry to agree to it, they had asked us to change things a bit to reorient the proposal. We have done that.'' Under the grandfathering rule, an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations while a new rule will apply to all future cases.

Those who get exemption from the new rule are said to have grandfather rights or acquired rights, or to have been grandfathered in.

In this case, the proposal was regarding giving duty exemption on import of renewable energy equipment, mainly solar for setting up projects in India. This would enable the firms to claim duty reimbursement.

Chaturvedi also said there is movement towards state-specific bids and tariffs could be pooled.''I think that decision has also been taken.'' He also said the hydrogen mission is at the highest stage of approval.''We hope that in next couple of months, it will be launched.'' Chaturvedi said offshore wind tender should be floated within next three-four months as most of the preparatory work has been done.

Solar rooftop capacity addition has been sluggish and India needs to work more on that, he added.

On progress of the PM KUSUM scheme, he said it has been slow but with feeder-level solar demand going up, it will pick up pace.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)