NTPC Limited has once again extended the bid submission deadline for its tender to set up 1.2 GW of the interstate transmission system (ISTS)-connected solar power projects in India.

The company has extended the deadline to July 15, 2020, from the earlier deadline of May 28, 2020.

The pre-bid meeting will take place on June 25, 2020. The date for the opening of technical bids has been fixed on July 16, 2020. Interested bidders will have to pay an amount of ₹400,000 (~$5,277)/MW as the earnest money deposit (EMD).

In April, NTPC had extended the bid submission deadline to May 28, 2020, which was earlier fixed for March 19, 2020.

NTPC had floated this tender in February 2020. The ceiling tariff for the tender was set at ₹2.78 (~$0.038)/kWh.

According to the tender documents issued earlier, the minimum capacity that a bidder can develop is 50 MW, and the total capacity that a bidder can quote is 600 MW.

Bidders can develop projects at multiple locations as long as each project is at least 50 MW. They are, however, allowed to only quote a single tariff for the entire capacity. The developer will have to achieve financial closure for the projects within 12 months from the effective date of PPA. The tender also stated that the capacity utilization factor (CUF) of the solar projects selected must not be less than 19%.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Project Tracker, NTPC has 875 MW of large-scale solar projects in operation, and about 2.1 GW capacity is currently under development.

Recently, NTPC agreed to defer the capacity charges and provide rebates to distribution companies to the tune of ₹34.27 billion (~$455 million) during the nationwide lockdown. The government-owned power generator allowed the capacity charges of ₹20.64 billion (~$274 million) to be deferred until the end of the lockdown.

Earlier, NTPC also floated an invitation for bids from contractors for an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) package along with land for the development of solar projects up to 600 MW capacity. These interstate transmission systems (ISTS) connected solar projects can be developed anywhere in India. The last date for the submission of bids is June 22, 2020.