The Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Co (Tangedco) held a 500 MW wind auction in end-August where the winning price was Rs 3.42 per kWh.
Evergreen Renewables, a subsidiary of Evergreen Power Solutions Inc., has moved the Madras High Court to stay the entire auction proceedings and set aside Tangedco’s letter rejecting its bid. The firm had quoted a tariff of Rs 3.34 per kWh, Evergreen said in its writ petition.
According to the petition, Tangedco in its letter said Evergreen’s bid did not furnish “the equity commitments of the consortium members” while the tender documents had clearly asked for these. Evergreen claimed that the relevant portion of the tender document, if read in its entirety, clearly suggests that these details have to be furnished before signing the energy purchase agreement (EPA), and not before bidding.
On the matter of submitting the techno-commercial bid and the price bid together, the petition claimed that the two bids were in fact submitted as separate annexes, with the latter encrypted, just as the tender documents had directed.
In most renewable energy auctions, the procedure is usually to file the techno-commercial bid first. The price bid is submitted only after the techno-commercial bid passes muster because it is considered that mentioning the price alongside the techno-commercial could amount to an attempt to influence selection, especially if the price quoted is competitive. But the Tangedco bid documents, Evergreen’s petition claimed, had made no such stipulation.
Evergreen has developed over 3,000 MW of solar and wind power in the US, and is currently setting up around 550 MW of wind projects across Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, the company said. It commissioned its first and only solar project of 11.5 MW in Telangana in April 2016.