Tenders

Including 80 MW of additional capacity at the testing stage, the country’s deployed PV capacity from large-scale solar auctions reached around 2.3 GW last year, according to a report by consultancy Greener. The study reveals a further 962 MW may be connected this year. Jinko, Canadian Solar and BYD are the largest module suppliers for the segment.

Tariff ceilings, safeguard duties, a falling rupee and mandated manufacturing capacity turned 2018 into a year of annulled tenders, and no shows by bidders.

Greece ran two separate tenders for PV on December 10. However, the Greek energy regulator has decided not to award the winners of the tender for large-scale farms, due to lack of adequate competition. The tender for the large projects will be repeated next year.

As expected, Germany’s second chamber of parliament has passed a new package of laws. They will enter into force on January 1, 2019. Among the the changes are the extraordinary FIT cuts for rooftop systems between 40 and 750 kW in size for February, March and April, and new tenders for wind and solar totaling 4 GW.

In light of the massive Renewable Energy Development Fund deficit, China is looking for new ways to support the further deployment of renewables. German Energy Agency, Dena has prepared a new report, detailing how the country can move away from FITs to a more sustainable financing framework. Overall, it points to the increasing importance of auctions; and discusses how the right policy design can improve the cost competitiveness of renewable energies.

The Mexican National Center for Energy Control (CENACE) has announced that the fourth long-term auction has been temporarily suspended, due to changes in the management of CENACE and in the Federal Electricity Commission.

In the first big auction, a day after the imposition of a 25% safeguard duty on solar imports, the winning tariff of Rs 2.79 (US$0.041) at the 200 MW Odisha auction took the industry by surprise.

Citing high tariff of INR 3.48 ($0.050)/kWh as untenable, the Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA) has cancelled the recent auction for the development of 1 GW grid-connected solar PV projects across the state.

Greece’s tender-based policy scheme for the support of renewable energies is maturing. After running a pilot tender in 2016, the country will tender 300 MW of solar PV power and 300 MW of wind power projects on July 2.