Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam (GUVNL) has issued a request for selection (RfS) for the purchase of power from 500 MW of grid-connected wind power projects to be set up anywhere in India (Phase VI) with a greenshoe option of an additional 500 MW.

The eligible bid capacity for intra-state projects will be a minimum of 25 MW; for inter-state projects, it will be a minimum of 50 MW.

The projects can be located anywhere in India, at locations selected by the bidders at their own discretion, cost, risk, and responsibility.

The last date to submit the bids is August 7, 2023. Bids will be opened on August 18.

Bidders must pay the non-refundable bid processing fee of ₹300,000 (~$3,643) plus 18% goods and service tax and an earnest money deposit of ₹1 million (~$12,144)/MW of the quoted capacity.

The successful bidder must remit ₹2 million (~$24,287)/MW of the allotted capacity as a performance bank guarantee at the time of the power purchase agreement (PPA) signing.

The successful bidders are required to sign a 25-year PPA with GUVNL.

The wind project developer will be responsible for the design of interconnection with the state transmission utility or central transmission utility (CTU) through a dedicated transmission line for the delivery of energy at the Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation periphery.

In the case of inter-state projects and projects connected through the CTU Network, all transmission charges and losses up to the delivery point will be to the account of the wind project developers.

The wind project developer must commission the projects within 24 months of signing the PPA. In the case of part commissioning, the minimum capacity for acceptance for the first part commissioning will be 25 MW (Intra-State Projects) / 50 MW (Inter-State Projects) or 50% of the allocated capacity, whichever is lower.

Under the tender, projects under construction, not yet commissioned or already commissioned, and do not have a long-term PPA with any agency and selling power on a short-term or merchant plant basis will also be considered. These projects should not have been already accepted under any other central or state programs and do not have any obligations towards existing buyers.

To be eligible, bidders must have prior Original Equipment Manufacturers/Engineering Procurement and Construction tie-ups with not less than three other entities before the bid submission.

Bidders must have a net worth of not less than ₹12 million (~$145,724)/MW of the quoted capacity in any one of the last three financial years.

Wind project developers from a country that shares a land border with India are also allowed to participate in the tender as far as they are registered with the authorized body.

The wind project developer must ensure that the project’s declared annual capacity utilization factor (CUF) should, in no case, be less than 22%. They must maintain the generation to achieve annual CUF within +20% and -20% of the declared CUF during the 25-year PPA duration.

In case of any shortfall in performance, the developer will be liable to pay a compensation of 50% of the PPA tariff to GUVNL.

If the generation exceeds 20% of the declared annual CUF, the wind project developers will be free to sell it to any other entity provided first right of refusal vests with GUVNL.

If GUVNL decides to purchase the excess generated power, the developer will be compensated at 75% of the PPA tariff.

GUVNL has mandated the use of only the type-certified wind turbine models listed in the Revised List of Models and Manufacturers of Wind Turbines prepared by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

In May, GUVNL announced the winners of its auction to supply power from 500 MW of grid-connected wind projects (Phase V). Only 240 MW of the total capacity was auctioned, and the lowest tariff quoted in the auction was ₹3.11 (~$0.038)/kWh.

According to Mercom India Research, GUVNL has so far tendered 2.3 GW of wind power projects across Phase I to V.