The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has extended the deadline for the submission of bids for its 1,200 MW wind tender.

The new bid submission deadline for the tender is December 5, 2019.

In September 2019, SECI had invited bids from wind power developers to develop 1,200 MW of interstate transmission system (ISTS) connected wind power projects under Tranche IX of the ISTS program. The projects are to be delivered on a build-own-operate (BOO) basis. Developers can submit bids for project sizes varying from a minimum of 50 MW to 600 MW.

Earlier, SECI had set a ceiling tariff of ₹2.85 (~$0.040)/kWh. In the amendment released on October 17, 2019, SECI revised the maximum tariff payable at ₹2.93 (0.04)/kWh for the full period of 25 years.

In this wind tender, SECI has also introduced two new clauses:

• Adjusted Equity: This means the equity funded in rupees and adjusted on the first day of the reference month. This reflects the changes in its value due to depreciation and variations in the Wholesale Price Index (WPI). SECI has specified that an amount equal to the adjusted equity as on the day of commercial operation (COD) of the project will be the base adjusted equity and after the COD, the adjusted equity will be equal to the base adjusted equity, reduced by 0.333% at the beginning of each month after the COD. The reduction would be to the extent of 1% per quarter of a year. The amount will be revised to the extent of the variation in WPI occurring between the COD and the reference date of a month.

• Debt due: This means the aggregate of the following amounts in rupees outstanding on the transfer date:

SECI has further specified that if all or any part of the debt due is convertible into equity, it won’t be considered as a debt due. Moreover, SECI has mentioned that the debt due on or after the COD cannot exceed 80% of the total project cost.

The SECI has amended a clause in both the power purchase agreement (PPA) and a power sale agreement (PSA). The earlier clause stated that the parties agree that any modifications in the agreement due to the adoption of the tariff and approving the procurement of the contracted capacity as directed by the appropriate commission or DISCOMs will be binding on both parties to the agreement

Now, the clause is amended to say that, the parties agree that decisions about the approval and adoption of the tariff along with SECI’s trading margin for procurement of contracted capacity, will be binding on all parties concerned, as contained in the Electricity Act, 2003 or any amendments.

According to Mercom India Research, SECI has auctioned 9.3 GW of wind projects under SECI’s ISTS Tranche I to Tranche VIII program.

In August, SECI awarded 439.8 MW of wind projects in its auction. It was part of the tender floated by the agency for 1,800 MW of ISTS-connected wind projects under Tranche VIII. The auction saw the lowest tariff of ₹2.83 (~$0.0395)/kWh quoted by CLP India, which bid for a capacity of 250.8 MW. The other bidder Avikaran Energy (Enel) quoted a tariff of ₹2.84 (~$0.0396)/kWh to develop a capacity of 300 MW but was only awarded 189 MW. Together, the two bidders were allotted 439.8 MW of wind projects.

Before that, Mercom reported another wind tender floated by SECI for 1.8 GW of projects was left undersubscribed with bids totaling 551 MW only.

According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), wind power accounted for 36.9 GW of the total installed power capacity and nearly 10.09% of the overall power capacity mix as of September 2019.