Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL) has retendered 500 MW of grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) projects to be developed across the state.

GUVNL has announced the tender in order to fulfill its Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) and to meet the future requirements of distribution companies (DISCOMs) in the state.

The bid-submission deadline is July 27, 2018.

“This is a retendering of the capacity which was initially tendered in February 2018, went for auction in March 2018, but was later scrapped in April 2018,” a GUVNL official told Mercom.

The GUVNL official also informed that all provisions in the new tender are similar to the old tender, the only exceptions being the inclusion of pass-through option in case of change in law and the new amendments to the reverse bidding guidelines announced by the Ministry of Power.

The Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) will be signed within one month from the date of issue of Letter of Award (LoA).

The PPAs will be executed between GUVNL and the selected bidders for a period of 25 years from the date of commercial operations. The successful developers will have to secure the financing arrangements within nine months from the date of issue of LoA.

GUVNL has provided a list of substations that will evacuate the power from these projects. “The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) issued an advisory asking the state governments to utilize the available spare space near substations and prioritize the construction of solar projects based on availability of land near substations or transmission system. We have kept that in mind while issuing this tender,” added the GUVNL official.

Image credit: Waa Solar