New Delhi [India], August 7 (ANI): The latest round-the-clock (RTC) renewable energy bid conducted by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has discovered a competitive tariff of Rs 5.25 per unit, reflecting the increasing cost competitiveness of renewable energy backed by integrated solar, wind and storage technologies, Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Santosh Sarangi, said on Friday.

Addressing the 7th CII International Energy Conference and Exhibition (IECE) in New Delhi, Sarangi said the government had expected the tariff to be higher but competitive bidding by developers resulted in a lower price.

'We expected the price to be very high, but thanks to the competitive spirit among our developers, we discovered a rate of Rs 5.25 per unit for RE RTC,' he said.

The latest RTC renewable energy bid provides for 90 per cent assured power availability in every time block, with solar contributing only 50 per cent of the daytime supply, demonstrating the sector's ability to deliver reliable renewable power through hybrid solutions.

Sarangi said India has crossed 300 GW of renewable energy installations and remains on track to achieve the Prime Minister's target of 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030. He attributed the progress to policy certainty, domestic manufacturing and market-creation initiatives.

Highlighting the country's manufacturing capabilities, he said India now has over 213 GW of solar module manufacturing capacity and more than 32 GW of solar cell manufacturing capacity, while nearly 85 per cent of wind energy manufacturing has been indigenised.

He also said the PM Surya Ghar scheme has covered more than 50 lakh households and is progressing towards its target of one crore rooftop solar installations.

On regional energy cooperation, Sarangi stressed that cross-border electricity trade requires not only transmission infrastructure but also harmonised regulatory frameworks. He said the One Sun, One World, One Grid initiative could enable countries across different time zones to share renewable energy resources more efficiently.

During the conference, the Governments of Odisha and Madhya Pradesh signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a knowledge partnership for renewable energy cooperation. The agreement aims to facilitate the exchange of best practices and innovations, including in reactive power management, with the Bhopal-based Centre for Mission of Energy Transition (CMET) supporting knowledge sharing.

Speaking during a session on shared energy systems, Sri Lanka's Energy Minister Anura Karunathilake, Bhutan's Director General of Energy Karma P. Dorji and former Economic Relations Secretary Dammu Ravi underlined the need for stronger regional electricity integration, harmonised regulations and greater cooperation to improve energy security and accelerate South Asia's clean energy transition. (ANI)