The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd. (MSEDCL) has 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.

The minimum individual project capacity to be developed per district is 2 MW and the maximum individual project capacity has been fixed at 10 MW per circle by MSEDCL.

MSEDCL has set the tariff ceiling at ₹3.10 (~$ 0.043) per unit in this tender.

The solar power generator will be responsible for the design, finance, procurement of land, engineering, procurement, construction, operations and maintenance of the projects, in line with the power purchase agreements (PPA) signed between the solar power generator and MSEDCL.

MSEDCL will enter into PPA with the selected bidders for a period of 25 years.  The bidders will be free to avail of fiscal incentives like accelerated depreciation, concessional customs and excise duties, tax holidays, benefits from trading of carbon credits, as available for such projects, if applicable.

In the tender, MSEDCL has also specified that the earnest money deposit required will be ₹0.8 million (~$11,028.80)/MW for each project.

The last date for the submission of the bid is October 23, 2018. Technical bids will open on October 24, 2018, and eligible bidders for each district will be informed about the opening date of financial bid later.

Recently, Mercom reported that the lowest (L1) tariff of ₹2.71 (~$0.0401)/kWh was quoted in the auction held by MSEDCL for the development of 1 GW of grid-connected solar projects in the state. This was the lowest solar tariff for a grid-connected solar PV project in Maharashtra.

In April 2018, MSEDCL had invited Expression of Interest (EoI) from prospective solar project developers to set up a 1 GW floating solar PV project on Ujjani Dam reservoir in Solapur district of Maharashtra.

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