How can India drive up renewable energy tenders

Tenders declined to about 28GW in 2022, which is below the required level. 

India can impose stricter enforcement of renewable purchase obligations (RPO) to increase renewable tenders after issuances fell in 2022, a report noted.

In a joint report, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) and JMK Research & Analytics found that the variable renewable energy tenders declined to 28 gigawatts from around 40GW in 2019. 

This is below the required level for India to achieve its 450W renewable energy capacity by 2030. 

Read more: Renewable energy tenders in India is ‘off-track’: report

The report also recommended imposing heavy penalties for failures to increase the pace of state-level tender issuance. 

Moreover, the report stated that pooled tariffs, implemented during certain control periods, would allay the DISCOMs’ fear of missing out on lower renewable energy tariffs in the future and hence address the delays in signing power supply agreements (PSA).

“If electricity sector stakeholders take steps to fix the combination of factors behind the slowdown, achieving more than 35GW of annual tendering will be possible,” co-author Vibhuti Garg, Director, South Asia, IEEFA, said.