Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) has invited bids to procure 445 MW (AC) of power from decentralized solar projects of 500 kW to 2 MW capacity under Component A of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja evam Utthan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) program.

The last date to submit the bids online is March 17, 2022.

A ceiling tariff of ₹3.10 (~$0.041)/kWh has been set for the tender.

Under Component A of the PM-KUSUM program, the government aims to set up 10,000 MW of grid-connected solar power projects of individual project size of up to 2 MW.

Interested bidders will have to submit an amount equivalent to ₹100,000 (~$1,331)/MW as an earnest money deposit.

The selected bidders will have to submit a performance bank guarantee of ₹500,000 (~$6,664)/MW within 30 days from the date of issuance of the letter of award.

The project should be commissioned within 12 months of the issuance of the letter of award.

The successful bidder will be responsible for identifying the land required for the project, setting up the project, including the distribution network, and managing all the required approvals, permits, and clearances from all state government and local bodies.

The bidder must use only the modules listed in MNRE’s Approved Models and Manufacturers of Solar PV Modules (Requirements for Compulsory Registration) Order, 2019.

The successful bidder should develop ground-mounted solar power projects as quoted in the bidding process. The other eligible projects would be those under construction, that are not yet commissioned, and already commissioned but do not have any long-term PPA with any agency and are selling power on a short-term or merchant plant basis.

Bidders could participate as an individual or group of farmers, cooperatives, panchayats, farmer producer organizations, or water user organizations setting up the project on their lands. If bidders cannot arrange the capital required to set up the projects, they may set up the project through a developer signing a land lease agreement.

The lease rent for lands to be paid to the landowner is ₹30,000 (~$399.46)/acre per year with a yearly 3% increment.

Individual farmers, farmer groups, cooperatives, panchayats, farmer producer organizations, water user associations, and farmers setting up the project on their lands are not required to meet the financial eligibility requirement.

If a developer sets up the project on leased land, the net worth of the bidder should not be less than ₹10 million (~$133,153)/MW of the quoted capacity.

The bidder’s minimum annual turnover should be ₹2.5 million (~$33,288)/MW of the quoted capacity during the last financial year.

The developer should have an internal resource generation capability in the form of profit before depreciation, interest, and taxes (PBDIT) for a minimum of ₹1 million (~$13,315)/MW of the quoted capacity as of the last date of the previous financial year.

The developer should have an in-principle sanction letter from the lending institution committing a Line of Credit for a minimum of ₹1.25 million (~$16,644)/MW of the quoted capacity to meet the working capital requirement of the project.

The project should be designed to deliver energy at the 11/22 kV level substation of MSEDCL. The responsibility of getting the grid connectivity with MSEDCL will entirely be of the successful bidder.

Last 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.

Earlier, MSEDCL had invited bids for 487 MW of decentralized solar projects of 500 kW to 2 MW capacity under Component A of the PM-KUSUM program in Maharashtra.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Tender Tracker, MSEDCL has so far floated tenders for 15 GW of solar projects.