Crocus Infra of the Indiabulls group, Delhi-based ACME, French company Solaire Direct, and the American firm, Azure Power, are among those to have won mandates to put up solar power projects in Punjab.
The Delhi-based ACME group has won rights to put up 74 MW solar power projects in a bidding process put through by the Punjab Electricity Development Agency (PEDA). It has won 24 MW bidding a tariff ofRs. 7.16 a kWhr and another 50 MW for Rs. 7.06 kWhr.
The group will put up these projects with an investment of Rs. 600 crore and the electricity will be sold to the state distribution company at these tariffs.
With this, ACME’s total solar projects under development in the country have crossed the 700-MW-mark.
- Crosus picked up 78 MW (24 MW for Rs. 7.42; 50 MW for Rs. 7.56 and 4 MW for Rs. 7.45).
- Solaire Direct got up 54 MW (for Rs. 6.88)
- Azure Power 28 MW (24 MW for Rs. 7.19 and 4 MW for Rs. 7.33)
PEDA had issued a tender to buy solar electricity from 250 MW of projects. The total capacity was divided into three categories, with maximum bid-able capacity of 24 MW, 50 MW and 5 MW by a single company under each category. ACME won the highest allowed in the first two categories.
This is the second tender of PEDA. The first was in 2013, when the state selected companies to build 300 MW of solar power projects. Then, 27 companies won mandates to put up solar plants of 251 MW and sell electricity at tariffs arrived at through the bidding process. Back then, all but four of the 27 quoted tariffs higher than Rs. 8.24. Of the four, only two, of 2 MW each, were below Rs. 7.50, one of them Rs.7.47 and the other Rs. 7.20.
Punjab is a state of 50,000 sq km land, home to 27.7 million Punjabis. The state enjoys solar radiation of 5-5.5 kWhr/metre square per day.
