NEW DELHI: When solar power tariff dropped to Rs 2.44 per unit for the first time in May 2017, it set a record for cheapest electricity, busted the myth of renewable power being unaffordable and opened a Pandora’s box for conventional power plants by challenging coal’s dominance as the primary source of energy.
In an eerie feeling of deja-vu some 20 months on, the latest auction of storage-based solar project with assured peak-hour supply may have driven another nail into the coffin for coal by setting a world record for cheapest solar storage power — with the added commitment of almost round-the-clock supply costing 8% less than thermal power to break the affordability barrier for storage-based energy solutions. In the latest instance, Hyderabad-based GreenKo won 900MW of the 1,200MW solar storage project auction by SECI Ltd.
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