Goldman Sachs-backed ReNew leads solar auction winners in Madhya Pradesh.

ReNew Power Ventures Pvt. Ltd., a clean- energy developer backed by Goldman Sachs Group Inc., won the most capacity in a government solar auction in Madhya Pradesh.

ReNew was awarded a licence to build a 30 megawatt (MW) photovoltaic plant after bidding to sell power at Rs.6,970 ($112) a MW-hour, according to S.R. Mohanty, secretary of new and renewable energy in Madhya Pradesh. That's about 19% below the global average price for electricity generated by panels, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

India, the third-biggest energy consumer on Earth, plans a six-fold increase in solar capacity by 2017 to reduce blackouts as plunging panel prices help photovoltaic projects compete on costs with coal and gas-fired plants. The government is using competitive tenders to avoid European-style subsidies, where above-market tariffs for wind and solar farms are common.

Madhya Pradesh awarded 100 MW of capacity in total. Developers promising to sell power at the cheapest rates won. Himgiri Energy Ventures offered the lowest bid of Rs. 6,470 a MW-hour.

The winners also included Today Homes & Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd., Bhadresh Trading Corp., Ujaas Energy Ltd.'s unit KRBL and Focal Energy Holdings Ltd., according to a list sent by Mohanty. Bloomberg

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