REMC Limited, a joint venture of Indian Railways and RITES, on behalf of Indian Railways, has invited bids to procure 750 MW of round-the-clock (RTC) power from grid-connected renewable projects with or without storage across India for 25 years.

The last day to submit the bids is October 30, 2023. Bids will be opened on November 2.

Bidders must submit an earnest money deposit of ₹980,000 (~$11,773)/MW of the quoted capacity.

The successful bidder should furnish a performance bank guarantee for a value of ₹2 million (~$24,028)/MW of the allotted capacity at least seven working days before the power purchase agreement (PPA) signing.

They must also pay a success charge of  ₹100,000 (~$1,201)/ MW plus 18% goods and service tax to REMCL.

Each bid must have a minimum capacity of 100 MW. The project’s annual availability for the initial four years is set at 75%, which increases to 85% for the remaining contract years. Time-block-wise availability requires a minimum project availability of 50% for the entire contract tenure.

If there is a power supply shortfall, developers will be liable to pay 200% of the applicable tariff for that contract year, calculated on an annual or time-block basis. The power supply must also encompass energy sourced from the storage system, provided that renewable sources are used for energy storage.

The tariff is expected to be mutually agreed upon by the parties involved, with the tariff for each year to be levelized based on a discounting factor of 7.7%.

To minimize technological risk and ensure timely commissioning, only commercially established and operational technologies should be employed for these projects.

If integrated, energy storage systems (ESS) may be included as part of the project or linked separately with a third party by the developer. Importantly, ESS power supplied for this project must originate from renewable sources.

Eligible projects encompass those under construction, projects not yet commissioned, and projects that are already commissioned but lack long-term PPAs with any agency, instead selling power on a short-term or merchant plant basis. These considerations apply if the projects are not already accepted under any other government programs and do not have obligations towards existing buyers.

The renewable generation components and ESS installations may be sited anywhere, including co-located or separate locations. Various components of RTC power, such as solar, wind, hydro, and more, can be interconnected with the interstate transmission system (ISTS) network at different ISTS substations.

Bidders must exhibit a net worth equal to or exceeding ₹30 million ($360,431)/ MW during the financial year immediately preceding the bid submission. A minimum annual turnover of ₹48 million ($601,450) per MW during the last financial year is mandated.

The bidders’ internal resource generation capability, as represented by profit before depreciation, interest, taxes, and amortization (PBDITA), should amount to at least ₹9.6 million (~$115,330)/ MW during the previous financial year.

Bidders must possess an in-principle sanction letter from lending institutions, committing a Line of Credit for a minimum amount of ₹12 million (~$144,163)/ MW to fulfill the project’s working capital needs.

The responsibility for acquiring the necessary land for the project rests entirely with the renewable project developer.

Bidders from countries sharing a land border with India are eligible to participate in this tender only if registered with the competent authority.

REMC has mandated the use of solar modules listed in the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers and wind turbines listed in the Revised List of Models and Manufacturers for the projects.

In July last year, REMCL invited bids to procure 1 GW of RTC power from grid-connected renewable power projects with or without storage across India for 25 years.

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