Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MSEDCL) has invited bids for the procurement of 500 MW of wind-solar hybrid power on a long-term basis from grid-connected intrastate projects.

The last date to submit the bids is November 10, 2022.

Bidders will have to submit ₹300,000 (~$3,678) as a processing fee and ₹500,000 (~$6,131)/MW/project as an earnest money deposit.

The selected bidder must furnish ₹1 million (~$12,263)/MW as a performance bank guarantee seven days before signing the agreement.

MSEDCL will enter into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the selected bidders to purchase wind-solar hybrid power for 25 years from the project’s scheduled commercial operation date.

The intrastate wind-solar hybrid projects under construction, projects which are not yet commissioned, and projects already commissioned but do not have any long-term PPA with any agency may be considered if the projects are not already accepted under any other central or state programs.

The minimum bid capacity of a single hybrid power project should be 50 MW.

To ensure the quality of wind turbines installed, only type-certified wind turbine models listed in the Revised List of Models and Manufactures as published by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) will be allowed for deployment.

Also, the solar modules to be used for the projects should be from the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers issued by MNRE.

Foreign companies are eligible to participate in the bidding process as long as they are registered as companies per the rules of their country of origin. They must also comply with the applicable rules on foreign direct investments as specified by the Government of India.

The net worth of bidders should be ₹10 million (~$122,633)/ MW seven days before the bid submission.

The minimum annual turnover of bidders should be at least ₹7.5 million (~$91,974)/MW of the quoted capacity during the last financial year. They should have an internal resource generation capability in the form of profit before depreciation, interest, and taxes for a minimum amount of ₹1.5 million (~$18,395)/MW of the quoted capacity as of the last day of the previous financial year.

Bidders should also have an approval letter for the lending institution consisting of a line of credit for a minimum amount of ₹1.875 million (~$22,993)/MW of the quoted capacity toward meeting the working capital requirement of the project.

The project should be designed to deliver energy at the state transmission utility (STU) periphery. The responsibility of getting the grid connectivity with STU, i.e., the Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company (MSETCL), will be of the successful bidder.

The developer should maintain generation to achieve an annual capacity utilization factor (CUF) of not less than 90% of the declared value and not more than 120% of the declared CUF value during the PPA duration of 25 years.

Recently, MSEDCL invited bids to procure 500 MW of power on a long-term basis from 500 MW (Phase IX) of grid-connected intrastate solar power projects.

Last July, Tata Power and Azure Power were declared winners in MSEDCL’s auction to procure power from 500 MW of grid-connected interstate and intrastate wind-solar hybrid projects on a long-term basis.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Tender Tracker, MSEDCL has so far floated tenders for 830 MW of wind-solar hybrid projects.