US firm challenges Tamil Nadu wind energy auction in High Court

US-based renewable energy company Evergreen Renewables, a subsidiary of Evergreen Power Solutions Inc has moved the Madras High Court challenging the recent wind auction held by Tamil Nadu government, claiming that its bid was unfairly rejected even though it had quoted a tariff lower than the winning bid. 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 has moved the 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. When it approached Tangedco asking why its bid had not been considered, the latter listed two reasons in its response: “non-satisfaction of the net worth criteria” and “submitting the price bid along with techno-commercial bid”, Evergreen said in its petition. Both reasons were untenable, the petition claimed. 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.