Tamil Nadu's 1.5 GW solar auction set record-low tariffs in India

The tender set a tariff of US$0.0054\kWh.

The Indian state of Tamil Nadu,India has published the results of the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation’s (TANGEDCO) 1.5 GW solar PV auction and reported it has received the lowest bids ever received in the State so far, said Enerdata.

The tender set a new record-low tariff of IRup3.47/kWh (US$0.054) for the Indian developer Raasi Green Earth Energy, which will develop 100 MW of solar PV at that tariff. The tender was massively oversuscribed and 1,500 MW were distributed to 25 companies.

Here's more from Enerdata:

Aside from the record-low winning bids, the tender also attracted lots of small players bidding for volumes below 10 MW, and doing so at competitive rates of around IRup3.90/kWh per unit.

During the 2015 solar PV tender, TANGEDCO received bids at a rate of around IRup7.01/kWh per unit while the 2016 average auction tariff rate stood around IRup4.5/kWh. The cost of setting up solar projects in the state has never been that cheap in India, even with the newly introduced increased tax of 5% for solar components.

This story was originally published by Enerdata.