Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) has invited bids to procure power from 500 MW of intrastate grid-connected solar power projects (Phase-VII) on a long-term basis.

The last date to submit the bids online is July 18, 2022. Bids will be opened on the same day.

Bidders will have to submit ₹400,000 (~$5,148)/MW as an earnest money deposit. The successful bidder will have to furnish ₹1.1 million (~$14,157)/MW as a performance bank guarantee valid for seven months.

The minimum project capacity will be 25 MW at a single location with a minimum bid capacity of 50 MW for projects. The project capacity should be a multiple of 25 MW beyond the minimum project capacity of 25 MW.

MSEDCL will enter into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the bidders selected for the purchase of solar power for 25 years from the scheduled commercial operation date in case of proposed or new solar power projects or for 25 years from the date of execution of the PPA for existing solar power projects.

The solar power generator will be responsible for the design, finance, procurement of land, engineering, procurement, construction, and operation & maintenance of the project in accordance with the PPA provisions.

Only commercially established and operational technologies can be used to minimize the technology risk and achieve the projects’ timely commissioning.

Projects under construction, projects which are not yet commissioned, and projects already commissioned but do not have any long-term PPA with any agency and selling power on a short-term or merchant plant basis will be considered.

Foreign companies are also allowed to bid.

Bidders must have a net worth of ₹10 million (~$128,700)/MW in the last financial year. Their minimum annual turnover should be ₹3.52 million (~$45,302)/MW of the quoted capacity during the previous financial year.

Bidders should have an internal resource generation capability in the form of Profit Before Depreciation, Interest, and Taxes (PBDIT) for a minimum of ₹703,400 (~$9,052)/MW of the quoted capacity.

They should have a sanction letter from lenders for a minimum of ₹879,000 (~$11,312)/MW of the quoted capacity toward meeting the working capital requirement.

The successful bidder must secure grid connectivity with the Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company.

MSEDCL has stated that the declared capacity utilization factor (CUF) should in no case be less than 19% over a year. The generator should maintain generation to achieve annual CUF within + 10% and ‐ 15% of the declared value till the end of ten years from the commercial operation date. The annual CUF should be a minimum of 17% and within +10% and ‐ 20% of the declared value of the annual CUF after that until the end of the PPA duration of 25 years.

Last August, ACME Solar Holdings and ReNew Solar Power were declared winners in MSEDCL’s auction to procure power from 500 MW of solar projects (Phase VI) on a long-term basis. ACME Solar Holdings won a capacity of 300 MW quoting ₹2.42 (~$0.032)/kWh. ReNew Solar Power won 200 MW quoting ₹2.43 (~$0.033)/kWh.

Earlier, MSEDCL had invited bids to procure power from 500 MW of interstate or intrastate grid-connected solar projects on a long-term basis.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Tender Tracker, MSEDCL has so far floated tenders for 15.18 GW of solar projects.