Bhubaneswar: Odisha recorded tariffs ranging between Rs 2.79 and Rs 3.20 per unit in the country-wide solar auction process. This marked the opening up of solar markets in the state that was previously not considered lucrative.
The state has only 80 MW of solar power installed till now. The bids have been low despite India stamping a safeguard duty on the import of solar panels and other equipment.
The safeguard duty imposed by the centre is 25 per cent on solar products that come from China and Malaysia. Incidentally, these two countries make up for 90 per cent of solar imports in India.
This duty was imposed by the Directorate General of Trade Remedies to protect the interest of local manufacturers.
According to Vinay Rustagi of the solar consulting firm, Bridge to India, the low tariffs are a ‘surprise’ considering that the state has lower solar irradiation and land acquisition isn’t a smooth process here.
This year, a 200 MW solar plant in Odisha was auctioned for prices lower that those in Karnataka, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, where traditionally solar has been very competitive.
In Odisha, the lowest bid winner was Aditya Birla Renewables. They got 75 MW at Rs 2.79 per unit. Eden Renewable Varenne got 50 MW at Rs 3.19 per unit. Acme Solar received 30 MW at Rs 3.20 per unit. Sukhbir Agro won 25 MW at Rs 3.19 per unit and Gupta Power Infrastructure won 20 MW at Rs 3.19 per unit.
In comparison, the tariff ranged from Rs 3.48-3.55 per unit in Uttar Pradesh and it was Rs 2.94 and Rs 3.54 per unit in Karnataka, where the sizes of the plants were also much bigger ranging from 860 MW to 1000 MW. Similarly, Rs 2.94 was the bid in Gujarat and these high tariffs resulted in its cancelling the auctions. The same was done by Uttar Pradesh too.
