The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) has issued a tender for the purchase of power on long term basis from 1,000 MW grid-connected solar photovoltaic power projects (Phase – II).

In this tender, the MSEDCL has set the ceiling tariff at ₹2.80 (~$0.039)/kWh and will enter into power purchase agreement (PPA) with the selected bidder for a period of 25 years.

The last date for the bid submission is January 3, 2019. The technical bids will open on the same date. The date of opening of the financial bids will be informed to the eligible bidders later.

The earnest money deposit (EMD) for the projects is ₹600,000 (~$8,451)/MW.

The minimum capacity for the intra-state solar project is 5 MW at a single location with the minimum bid capacity of 5 MW for projects that are outside a solar park. In case of inter-state projects, the minimum project capacity will be 50 MW at a single location with the minimum bid capacity of 50 MW. A bidder has been allowed only a single bid in this tender.

Moreover, projects that are under construction, or not yet commissioned, and projects that are commissioned but do not have a long-term PPA and are selling power only on short-term basis, will be considered for this tender in case these projects are not already accepted under any other central or state schemes and do not have any obligations towards existing buyers. Foreign companies can also participate and those participating in the bidding process will be registered as companies as per the rules of their country of origin.

To be eligible to bid, the net-worth of the bidder for the financial year that ended on March 31, 2018 should not be less than ₹5.5 million (~$77,470/MW).

It will be bidder’s responsibility to get the required grid connectivity for the projects.

Maharashtra has taken huge strides in recent times when it comes to expansion of solar projects in the state. Only a couple of months ago, MSEDCL issued a tender to develop 1,400 MW (AC) of solar projects in 30 circles of the state. 50 MW solar projects will be developed in 26 circles, while 25 MW solar projects will be developed in four circles. These circles have been categorized under four regions: Western Maharashtra, Vidarbha, Marathwada and Rest of Maharashtra. Before that, it also tendered 1 GW of solar projects to be developed under the Mukhyamantri Saur Krushi Vahini Yojana.

Image credit: RESOL

Nitin is a staff reporter at Mercomindia.com and writes on renewable energy and related sectors. Prior to Mercom, Nitin has worked for CNN IBN, India News, Agricultural Spectrum and Bureaucracy Today. He received his bachelor’s degree in Journalism & Communication from Manipal Institute of Communication at Manipal University and Master’s degree in International Relations from Jindal School of International Affairs. More articles from Nitin Kabeer