The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI)’s solar PV tender coupled with manufacturing component has been extended for the third time. The new bid submission deadline is May 14, 2019. The techno-commercial bids will open on the same date.

Earlier, SECI had extended the bid submission deadline from March 18, 2019, to April 4, 2014, and again to April 22, 2019.

In January 2019, SECI issued a tender to set up 3 GW of grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity linked to 1.5 GW of the solar manufacturing unit and then it issued the first set of amendments to the RfS in February 2019.

The minimum capacity for bidding was fixed at 1,000 MW of solar capacity linked with 500 MW of solar manufacturing. A single bidder can bid for the entire capacity.

The manufacturing unit and the solar PV projects will be developed on build own operate (BOO) basis. SECI will enter into a power purchase agreement with the successful bidders for the purchase of solar power for 25 years. The maximum tariff payable to the project developer is fixed at ₹2.75 (~$0.039)/ kWh for 25 years.

Last year in May, SECI had issued a similar tender for 5 GW of manufacturing capacity linked to ISTS-connected solar projects for an aggregate capacity of 10 GW. This was later reduced to 3 GW where the developers were to be provided guaranteed PPAs of 2,000 MW for a manufacturing capacity of 600 MW. Therefore, the total power projects awarded would have remained at 10 GW.

Besides extending the deadline for the solar with manufacturing tender, SECI has also extended the bid submission deadline for 1,200 MW of ISTS-connected solar-wind hybrid power projects (tranche-II) to May 7, 2019.

It had issued the tender is for setting up of 1,200 MW solar-wind hybrid power projects in February 2018, and the detailed RfS was made available for download from March 8, 2019.

In December 2018, in the first mega solar-wind hybrid auction conducted in the country by the SECI, SB Energy emerged as the L1 bidder by quoting a tariff of ₹2.67 (~$0.03794)/kWh.