The Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) has once again extended the bid submission deadline for its tender to procure 5 GW of renewable power on a round-the-clock (RTC) basis complemented with thermal power projects.

The date for the submission of bids has now been extended to August 4. Mercom had earlier covered the previous extension of this tender. The initial bidding deadline was May 4, 2020. SECI had issued the tender in March 2020.

As per the tender document, the prospective bidders must pay a sum of ₹500,000 (~$6,636)/MW as the earnest money deposit (EMD). Bidders are also expected to submit a performance bank guarantee of ₹1 million (~$13,274).

In the tender document, SECI added that renewable projects that have already been commissioned could not be considered under this tender. Projects under construction or those that are not commissioned yet will be taken into account. The completion period of the projects is between 18 to 30 months.

The renewable power developer is expected to supply renewable power complemented with power generated from thermal-based energy sources, if required, on a ‘round-the-clock’ basis, keeping at least 80% availability on an annual basis.

For this tender, SECI did not specify an upper ceiling tariff. However, it said a single ‘composite tariff’ would apply to the project.

According to SECI, the minimum project capacity a developer can bid for is 500 MW, and the maximum is 5 GW.

According to SECI, the successful bidder will supply at least 51% of the annual energy from renewable sources, including energy storage systems. The balance can be drawn from existing thermal energy projects.

In January this year, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) had come up with a draft plan to supply round the clock power from renewable projects, which will be complemented with power from thermal projects. The MNRE had asked for feedback from various stakeholders, including the Ministry of Power, renewable energy associations, and state governments and their power distribution companies, among others.