RE Capacity Growth in India Needs a Wholesale Change in Approach to Bidding in the FDRE Tenders

The article examines the shift in India's renewable energy procurement toward Firm & Dispatchable Renewable Energy (FDRE) tenders introduced by SECI in 2023. It argues that these tenders require a move away from cost-centric models toward advanced risk management, as developers must now match hourly demand profiles. To remain competitive, the authors suggest developers must evolve into 'Developers 2.0' by enhancing trading capabilities and addressing challenges such as price cannibalization and volume uncertainty.

• The FDRE tenders introduced by SECI in 2023 mark a transition from cost-centric procurement to a model where developers must match hourly demand profiles, although an annual relaxation of up to 25% is permitted.
• To succeed under the new FDRE framework, developers must address specific market risks, including price volatility, volume uncertainty, and the risk of renewable energy price cannibalization, while optimizing battery storage solutions.
• The authors propose a transition to 'Developers 2.0', where Indian firms enhance their market modeling and trading capabilities to competitively price bids for next-generation power-purchase agreements (PPAs).

APA

Rodrigues, N., & Vembadi, S. (2024). RE Capacity Growth in India Needs a Wholesale Change in Approach to Bidding in the FDRE Tenders. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/re-capacity-growth-in-india-needs-a-wholesale-change-in-approach-to-bidding-in-the-fdre-tenders

Chicago

Rodrigues, Neshwin, and Shiv Vembadi. RE Capacity Growth in India Needs a Wholesale Change in Approach to Bidding in the FDRE Tenders. Ember, 2024. https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/re-capacity-growth-in-india-needs-a-wholesale-change-in-approach-to-bidding-in-the-fdre-tenders.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Rodrigues |first1=Neshwin |last2=Vembadi |first2=Shiv |title=RE Capacity Growth in India Needs a Wholesale Change in Approach to Bidding in the FDRE Tenders |publisher=Ember |date=9 August 2024 |url=https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/re-capacity-growth-in-india-needs-a-wholesale-change-in-approach-to-bidding-in-the-fdre-tenders |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rodrigues2024capacity, author = {Rodrigues, Neshwin and Vembadi, Shiv}, title = {{RE Capacity Growth in India Needs a Wholesale Change in Approach to Bidding in the FDRE Tenders}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2024}, month = aug, url = {https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/re-capacity-growth-in-india-needs-a-wholesale-change-in-approach-to-bidding-in-the-fdre-tenders}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }