Paschim Gujarat Vij Company (PGVCL) has invited bids to develop 921 MW of solar projects to solarize 11 kV feeders of selected 66/11 kV substations of PGVCL under Component C of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) program.

The successful bidder will also have to take care of the project’s operation and maintenance for 25 years.

The last date to submit the bids online is March 17, 2023. Bids will be opened the following day.

Bidders will have to submit ₹100,000 (~$1,206)/MW of the quoted capacity as an earnest money deposit. The successful bidder must submit ₹500,000 (~$6,029)/MW as a performance bank guarantee within seven days from the date of the issuance of the letter of award.

The solar power generator will enter into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with PGVCL for 25 years from the project’s commercial operation date.

The project must be completed within nine months from the signing of the PPA.

The successful bidder will be eligible to get central financial assistance at 30% of the estimated cost of the project, which comes to ₹10.5 million (~$126,601)/MW considering the capital cost of the solar project at ₹35 million (~$422,022)/MW.

The location of the solar projects will preferably be within a five-kilometer radius of the selected substations to avoid the high cost of evacuation lines and losses.

The minimum solar capacity at a single location will be 0.5 MW, and the maximum capacity will be 4 MW.

To participate in the bidding process, bidders should have a positive net worth as of the last day of the previous financial year.

It will be the responsibility of the solar generator to install the required number of solar modules and associated equipment to achieve the required minimum capacity utilization factor of 19% throughout the 25-year PPA tenure.

Successful bidders will be responsible for delivering the power up to the 11 KV bus of the selected 66/11 KV substation. They will have to construct and maintain the 11 KV evacuation line during the PPA tenure.

The solar modules to be used must be from the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers issued by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

In August last year, Madhya Gujarat Vij Company invited bids to install and commission 42.8 MW of grid-connected feeder-level solar power projects and the associated power line under Component C of the PM-KUSUM program.

Earlier, Uttar Gujarat Vij Company had invited bids to install and commission 54 MW of grid-connected solar power projects for agricultural feeders under Component C of the PM-KUSUM program along with the 11 kV line and the remote monitoring system.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Tender Tracker, tenders for 98 MW of grid-connected solar power projects have been floated under Component C of the KUSUM program in Gujarat.