Rajasthan Urja Vikas Nigam (RUVNL) has invited bids to develop 1 GW of state transmission utility-(STU) connected solar power projects in the state.

The projects must secure financial backing within a year of signing the power purchase agreement (PPA) and must be operational within 18 months after that.

The last day to submit the bids is February 13, 2023. Bids will be opened on February 16.

Bidders must pay a bid processing fee of ₹500,000 (~$6,149) for projects of 50 MW to 99 MW and ₹1.5 million (~$18,445) for projects of 100 MW and above capacity.

They must furnish an earnest money deposit of ₹800,000 (~$9,837)/ MW of quoted capacity.

Selected bidders must submit a performance bank guarantee of ₹2 million (~$24,594)/ MW seven days before signing the PPA.

Developers must submit a payment security deposit of ₹500,000 (~$6,149)/MW before commissioning the project.

The solar project should be designed for interconnection with the pooling substation at the solar park through a dedicated cable at a voltage level of 33 kV.

The cost of transmission from the project up to the interconnection point, wheeling charges, and losses will be borne by the project developers.

Bidder’s net worth should be at least ₹8 million (~$98,377)/MW and a minimum annual turnover of ₹4.14 million (~$50,910)/MW in the previous financial year.

They must possess internal resource generation capability in the form of profit before depreciation, interest, and taxes (PBDIT) for a minimum amount of ₹830,000 (~$10,206)/MW.

Bidders must also have an in-principal sanction letter from the lending institution committing a line of credit for at least ₹1.04 million (~$12,789)/MW to meet the working capital requirement.

The modules used in the project must be from the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers published by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

The declared annual capacity utilization factor (CUF) should in no case be less than 19%, and the successful bidder must maintain generation to achieve annual CUF within + 10% and (-)15% of the declared value till the end of ten years from commissioning.

This is subject to the yearly CUF remaining at a minimum of 15% and within +10% and (–) 20% of the declared value of the annual CUF until the end of the PPA duration.

RUVNL will accept partial commissioning of the project, provided that the minimum capacity for the initial and any additional parts is 50 MW.

Last December, Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam issued a tender to select solar project developers to set up 810 MW of STU-connected solar power projects.

Subscribe to Mercom’s India Solar Tender Tracker to stay on top of tender activity in real time.