GUVNL awards 335 MW BESS tender to three bidders

Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL) has awarded its 335 MW/670 MWh standalone battery energy storage system (BESS) tender to three bidders.  

Advait Energy Transitions  Limited secured 150 MW at the L1 tariff of Rs 2.10 lakh per MW per month. Equentia Natural Resources Pte Ltd was awarded 65 MW at Rs 2.12 lakh per MW per month, while Sundrops Energia, a subsidiary of the KP Group, received 445 MW at Rs 2.12 lakh per MW per month. Rajesh Power Services and PNC Infratech did not secure allocations. 

The two-hour cycle BESS tender, supported by viability gap funding (VGF) under the Power System Development Fund (PSDF) scheme, was discovered at tariffs ranging from Rs 2.10 lakh per MW per month to Rs 2.12 lakh per MW per month. 

The awarded tariffs are higher than those discovered in GUVNL’s previous BESS tender. In the earlier auction, nine projects were awarded at tariffs between Rs 1.85 lakh and Rs 1.89 lakh per MW per month. Sundrops Energia had secured 445 MW at Rs 1,85,390 per MW per month, Ultimate Flexipack Limited was allotted 445 MW at Rs 1,89,000 per MW per month, and Engie Energy received 280 MW at Rs 1,89,000 per MW per month. The latest results indicate higher tariff levels than in prior auctions in Gujarat.

The tender provides for the development of standalone BESS projects in Gujarat under a tariff-based competitive bidding framework with VGF support. Selected projects are required to support two operational cycles per day, allowing two full charge and discharge cycles. Upon commissioning, the BESS facilities will draw power from the Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation Limited (GETCO) network and inject power back into the grid in accordance with schedules issued by the State Load Dispatch Centre (SLDC), in coordination with GUVNL. The systems are designed to discharge up to their rated capacity within any 15-minute time block as per dispatch instructions. The bidding framework is technology-agnostic, allowing any battery solution that meets the specified performance criteria.

The featured photograph is for representation only.