ReNew Power inks PPA with SECI for 1.3-GW wind-solar project in India

The country’s first "round-the-clock" PPA with 400-MW power supply.

The Indian renewable project developer, ReNewPower, has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for a "round-the-clock" 400-megawatt (MW) power supply, from a new 1,300 MW hybrid renewable project including 900 MW of wind and 400 MW of solar capacity, according to a report in Enerdata.

ReNew Power Chief Executive Sumant Sinha said that “with the signing of this PPA, ReNew Power and the Indian renewable energy sector has taken a historic step towards addressing intermittency of renewable power generation.

“We are pleased to sign this agreement which allows us to provide a value-added product to the electricity grid and offers us a competitive advantage for all such future bids.

“The government's bold vision and ReNew's technological ingenuity and execution prowess will ensure that this project will soon start feeding stable, clean, and low-cost power into the grid.

“I am confident that this is the beginning of a new era in the renewable energy sector.”

SECI Managing Director Shri JN Swain said “This PPA is a significant step forward to not only meet the 175-gigawatt renewable energy target of India but also usher in a dispatchable renewable energy regime in the electricity sector.

“This is also a momentous occasion for SECI as under this single project, 400MW renewable energy RTC capacity will result in the deployment of 1,300-MW of wind and solar capacity and a large-scale battery storage system in the country.

“With this project, procuring utilities would get round-the-clock electricity supply from renewables at a very affordable rate while meeting their RPO targets.

“Innovative projects like this will be the future of renewable energy in the country.”

The project will consist of wind and solar projects across Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan, which have already secured approvals to be connected to the grid. It will require an investment of US$1.2bn. Under the terms of the PPA—awarded through a 2020 auction led by SECI—ReNew will sell the power at a tariff of INR2.90/kWh (US$3.9c/kWh) in the first year; the rate will then increase by 3%/year for the first 15 years of the 25-year PPA, the report said.