The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has once again extended the bid submission deadlines for two of its tenders. These two tenders are for 2 GW of interstate transmission system (ISTS)-connected (Tranche IX) solar projects and 2 GW of ISTS-connected (Tranche IX) wind project.

The new deadline for the 2 GW solar tender has been set as June 15, 2020, while for the 2 GW wind tender, the new deadline is June 11, 2020. The earlier deadline for the submission of bids for the solar projects was May 28, 2020, and the last date for the submission of bids for the wind tender was May 26, 2020.

SECI had invited bids for both the projects in March 2020, and the initial bid submission deadline for the solar tender was May 05, 2020, and for wind, it was May 06, 2020. The bid submission date was later extended to May 28, 2020, and May 26, 2020, for the solar and wind tenders, respectively.

2 GW Solar Tender

The scope of work for the 2 GW solar tender includes the acquisition of land, connectivity, and long-term open access approvals by the solar power developer. Interested bidders will have to submit an amount of ₹400,000 (~$5,299)/MW as the earnest money deposit (EMD).

According to the document, applicants are allowed to submit a single bid for quantities between 50 MW and 2 GW in multiples of 10 MW.  The minimum project capacity per project is 50 MW, and the maximum is 300 MW. The total capacity that can be allocated to a single bidder is 2 GW.

2 GW Wind Tender

The second tender is for the development of 2 GW of ISTS-connected wind projects on a “build own operate” basis. The wind power will be sold to SECI.

Interested bidders will have to submit an amount of ₹600,000 (~$7,949)/MW as EMD.

As per the tender document, bidders are allowed to submit a single application for bids up to 2 GW in capacity. The minimum project size is set at 50 MW. A single bidder can be allotted a maximum capacity of 2 GW.

According to Mercom India Research, SECI has so far tendered 16.7 GW of ISTS solar projects under Tranche I to X; and 13.4 GW of ISTS wind projects under tranche I to IX.

Recently, SECI extended the deadline for the submission of bids to supply 5 GW of round-the-clock power from grid-connected renewable power projects, bundled with power from thermal projects. The date for the submission of bids has now been extended to June 04, 2020, from May 04, 2020.