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ACME Solar has once again emerged the lowest bidder at ₹2.44 a unit in the reverse auction of Interstate Transmission System (ISTS)-connected solar projects conducted by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) on Friday.
This is the second time ACME is emerging as the L1 bidder since the beginning of this month when SECI had auctioned 2,000 MW ISTS-connected solar projects.
Earlier, ACME bid a historical low tariff of ₹2.44 per unit in May 2017 in the Badla Phase-III Solar park auction.
Azure bags 300 MW
The latest tender for 3,000-MW capacity was oversubscribed by 2,100 MW with a dozen players, including industry majors such as Mahindra Susten, Tata Power, Adani Power, Renew, Mytrah and Hero Future Energies participating.
ACME has bagged 600 MW capacity while Azure Power, the L2 bidder at ₹2.64 a unit, will develop 300 MW. Rutherford Solar Farms, an SPV (special purpose vehicle) of Canadian Solar, won 200 MW at a tariff of ₹2.70.
Mahoba Solar (UP), a part of the Adani Group, ReNew Power, and SoftBank-backed SBE Renewables quoted ₹2.71 a unit bagging 300 MW, 500 MW and 1,100 MW respectively.
With eye on IPO
According to several market players who spoke on conditions of anonymity, bidding at the level of ₹2.44 a unit looks opportunistic given the uncertainty over the rupee-dollar exchange rate.
Securing transmission connectivity and land acquisition, too, pose risks for the developers of these projects.
Industry experts note that some players are willing to bid aggressively in order to ramp up capacity as they are preparing for an initial public offering.
ACME Solar was planning to raise around ₹2,200 crore through an IPO and had filed a DRHP with SEBI last year. It later decided to revise the valuation by half, but missed the deadline for refiling.
According to sources close to the company, ACME had overvalued itself and put the IPO plan on hold.
ReNew Power
The two latest wins will boost ACME’s capacity to 4,400 MW, out of which 1.7 GW is already operational.
Sumant Sinha-led ReNew Power has filed for an IPO in May to raise up to ₹8,000 crore including a primary fund-raising of ₹2,600 crore and a secondary share sale of 94 million shares most of which belongs to Goldman Sachs.
Last month, Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL), the renewable power arm of Adani Enterprises demerged into a separate entity in 2017, got listed on the NSE.
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