Companies led by SoftBank Group Corp. of Japan and Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Co. Ltd. are bringing India some of the cheapest solar power in the world, helping Prime Minister Narendra Modi reach his ambitious clean-energy goals.In two auctions this week for renewable-energy power-purchase contracts, bids from companies to supply clean electricity slid to as little as 3.8 cents a kilowatt-hour. The record is sharply below the previous bids around 5 cents and within striking distance of the lowest recorded bids in the United Arab Emirates and Chile as of quarter three of 2016, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.India is already among the most competitive generators of solar power after establishing auctions for capacity that drew capital both from western utilities and from development banks anxious to help Modi clean up his country’s notorious smog. SBG Cleantech Ltd. -- the clean-energy joint venture between Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp., India’s Bharti Enterprises Pvt. The first, held in February, brought down solar tariffs to 3.30 rupees (5 cents) a kilowatt-hour, from 4.34 rupees (7 cents) a year earlier.India is among a growing list of countries stretching from Asia to Europe and South America that have used auctions to make clean energy more affordable. Modi’s government has an ambitious plan to install 175 gigawatts of renewable capacity by 2022 to meet the fast-growing country’s electricity needs and to curb pollution.

Source: Economic Times May 12, 2017 11:37 UTC