The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) has invited bids to procure 500 MW of solar power from decentralized solar projects under Component C of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthan Mahabhiyan (PM KUSUM) program to be developed in the state.

Under Component C of the KUSUM program, the government aims to solarize one million grid-connected agriculture pumps of individual capacity up to 7.5 HP by 2022.

The last date to submit the bids online is January 24, 2022. The pre-bid meeting will be held on January 6.

Bidders will have to submit ₹100,000 (~$1,336)/MW as an earnest money deposit. The successful bidder will have to furnish an amount of ₹500,000 (~$6,683)/MW as a performance bank guarantee two days before signing the PPA.

MSEDCL will enter into power purchase agreements (PPAs) with the successful bidders to purchase solar power for 25 years from the commercial operation date of the solar power projects.

The projects under construction, projects which are not yet commissioned, and projects already commissioned but do not have any long-term PPA with any agency and selling power on a short-term or merchant plant basis will not be eligible to participate in the bidding process.

The projects should be commissioned within nine months of signing the PPA.

Developers must use indigenously manufactured solar panels with indigenous solar cells and modules listed in the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM).

The lease rent to be paid to the landowner has been set at ₹30,000 (~$401.03)/acre per year with a yearly 3% increment. The lease agreement will be for a tenure of between 26 and 30 years.

Bidders should have a net worth of at least ₹10 million (~$133,680)/MW of the quoted capacity in the last financial year. Their minimum annual turnover should be at least ₹2.5 million (~$33,419)/MW of the quoted capacity for the last financial year.

Bidders should have internal resource generation capability in the form of profit before depreciation, interest, and taxes (PBDIT) for a minimum of ₹1 million (~$13,368)/MW of the quoted capacity as of the last date of the previous financial year. They should have an in-principle sanction letter from the lending institution committing a line of credit for a minimum amount of ₹1.25 million (~$16,709)/MW of the quoted capacity.

This October, MSEDCL invited bids for 444 MW of decentralized solar projects of 500 kW to 2 MW capacity under Component A of the PM-KUSUM program in Maharashtra.

Last December, The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) had decided to include feeder level solarization under Component-C of the PM-KUSUM program.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Tender Tracker, MSEDCL has so far floated tenders for 13.04 GW of solar projects.