The Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation Limited’s (RRECL) recent solar tender for 113.5 MW of decentralized solar projects in the state has been oversubscribed.

RRECL stated that its 113.5 MW tender was oversubscribed by 38 MW, showing that there is sufficient interest and demand for the project from the developers.

Four participants had submitted bids for a total of 152 MW. Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) submitted bids for the full tendered capacity of 113.5 MW, Sukhbir Agro for 16 MW, Hero Future Energies Private Ltd (HFE) for 15.5 MW, and ATA Renewables for 6.5 MW.

The RRECL had initially floated the tender in September, inviting interested bidders to develop 113.5 MW of decentralized solar projects spread across various clusters of the state. The capacity of solar systems ranged between 0.5 MW and 2 MW that was slated to be developed on a ‘Build-Own-Operate’ (BOO) basis.

According to the tender, the Rajasthan Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (RUVNL) will enter into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the winning bidder for 25 years. The projects are slated to be developed across ten clusters across the state.

Recently, Mercom reported that the RRECL also floated a tender for 45 MW of rooftop solar projects across the state. The estimated capacity of the project is 50 MW, which can either be increased or decreased as per the availability of the capacity and Central Financial Assistance (CFA) allocation as approved by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).

Earlier, the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI)’s 750 MW tender for solar PV projects to be developed on a standalone basis across the state of Rajasthan was oversubscribed by 1,620 MW. Bids totaling 2,370 MW were submitted in response to the tendered capacity of 750 MW.

Rajasthan has an installed solar capacity of about 3.9 GW as of Q3 2019, according to Mercom India Solar Project Tracker, with about 2.4 GW of solar projects under development in the state.

To facilitate the seamless evacuation of solar power, the state-run Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) has approved ₹25.8 billion (~$358 million) to develop a transmission system for solar energy zones in Rajasthan. The transmission network has its commissioning scheduled for December 2020. The company will develop transmission systems associated with LTA application from Rajasthan Solar Energy Zone (SEZ) Part – C on a BOOM (Build Own Operate Maintain) basis. The transmission system comprises a 765/400 kV substation and 765 kV and 400 kV transmission lines that traverse Rajasthan, Haryana, and Delhi.

Image credit: junilly [CC BY 3.0]