India Finalises Guidelines For 1 GW Wind Energy Auction

The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy finally announced the guidelines for impending auction of wind energy projects. The guidelines pave way for the government to conduct and complete the auction before March 2017.

As per the final guidelines released by the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, the auction of 1 GW onshore wind energy projects will be conducted through reverse e-bidding by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) Limited. A total capacity of 1 GW will be allocated in the auction, however, this capacity may increase if there is such a demand from buyers.

The minimum capacity bid for a single location shall be 50 MW while a company (along with its parent, affiliates and subsidiaries) can bid for a cumulative of 250 MW. Project developers shall be required to sign a power purchase agreement with SECI which will, in turn, sign a power sale agreement with the buyers (most likely the utilities in various states). A trading company shall also be involved responsible of the final delivery of power to the buyers.

All awarded projects are to be commissioned with 18 months of allocation. Project developers, however, will be allowed to claim part commissioning the project by completing 50 MW or 50% of the allocated capacity, whichever is greater. Project developers shall face financial penalties for delayed commissioning or shortfall in minimum generation.

The main goal of this proposed auction is to allow states that lack wind energy resources purchase electricity from wind energy projects and meet their non-solar renewable purchase obligations.

The wind power potential in India is assessed by the National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) at 100 meter above ground level, which is estimated to be over 302 GW. Most of this potential exists in 8 windy States namely Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.

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