As winning solar bids get the axe in UP, the lure of lower tariff clouds India’s green-energy dream

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A solar panel is being cleaned in the Little Rann of Kutch region in Gujarat on January 8, 2021.

Synopsis
Uttar Pradesh recently cancelled bids won in an auction in February 2020. That’s because the auctioned bid price of INR3.17 is much higher than the present bids the state is getting at INR2.40. This is not a healthy trend for the industry, as the constant decline in solar tariffs is making many projects unviable.

280 gigawatt: India’s solar-power target by 2030. 25 gigawatt: Capacity-installation target for every year. This might remain a pipe dream. Blame capricious cancellation of successful bids and gagging fixation for ultra-low tariff. The latest to join the chorus, which is putting a serious question mark on India’s ambitious renewable energy target, is Uttar Pradesh (UP). The state has recently cancelled winning bids for 500MW solar-power