The fourth national-level solar power auction conducted by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has yielded satisfactory results for the government which has been facing tough questions about whether the ambitious renewable energy targets would actually be achieved.
The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) had issued the fourth national-level solar PV tender in February this year. After some delays due to the general elections in the country, the technical bidding phase was completed in late May. According to media reports, a total of seven project developers submitted bids to set up capacity of 1.9 gigawatts, an over-subscription of 900 megawatts. 
Now, five of these seven developers have managed to bag rights to develop solar power projects. The lowest tariff bid quoted in the financial bidding round is Rs 2.54/kWh (3.64¢/kWh). The maximum allowed tariff bid was Rs 2.65/kWh (3.80¢/kWh). The lowest bid is nearly the same as that in the previous national-level solar PV auction.
Ayana Renewables, a subsidiary of UK’s CDC Group, ReNew Power, and Azure Power secured rights to develop 300 megawatts of capacity each. Mahindra Susten bid for 250 megawatts of capacity and secured the same. Avaada Energy had bid for 350 megawatts of capacity but managed to bag just 50 megawatts due to a marginally higher tariff bid.
The lowest-ever tariff bid for a solar PV project in India remains Rs 2.44/kWh (3.50¢/kWh) discovered in the first and second national-level solar power auctions. The SECI would take the marginal increase the tariff bids given the challenges currently faced by the project developers.
The company that holds the record for the lowest-ever tariff bid — Acme Solar — has not participated in the last two national-level auctions and several state solar power auctions. In the four national solar power auctions conducted by the SECI so far, Azure Power and Acme Solar have jointly secured the largest cumulative capacity — 1,200 megawatts each. ReNew Power is a distant third with 600 megawatts of secured capacity.
The SECI has so far auctioned 7.4 gigawatts of capacity in the four auctions, of which 2.4 gigawatts has been annulled.
