The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has invited bids to develop 1,785 MW of solar projects (Tranche IV) in Rajasthan.

The last date to submit the bids online is April 15, 2021. Bids will be opened on April 20.

The successful bidder will have to submit an amount of ₹800,000 (~$10,944) as the performance bank guarantee.

The scheduled commissioning date for commissioning the project’s full capacity is 18 months from the power purchase agreement’s effective date.

As per the tender document, the power procured by SECI from the project will be sold to the distribution companies (DISCOMs) of Rajasthan. The buying entities will procure power through Rajasthan Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (RUVNL), which is the authorized agency for signing the power sale agreement on behalf of Rajasthan DISCOMs. SECI will act as an intermediary nodal agency for the procurement of power generated by the developer.

For each project, the minimum capacity will be 10 MW and the maximum 1,785 MW. The project capacity should be quoted in integral values only. The project should be designed for interconnection with the nearest substation of state transmission utility (STU) at the voltage level of 33 kV or above. The responsibility of getting connectivity with the STU’s transmission system will be of the developer, and the developer should bear the cost.

The declared annual capacity utilization factor (CUF) should in no case be less than 17%. Any excess generation over and above 10% of the upper limit of contracted energy as per the declared annual CUF will be purchased by SECI at its discretion.

Under the request for selection (RfS), SECI has proposed to promote only commercially established and operational technologies to minimize the technology risk. The bidder should indicate the selection of technology and its details at the time of bid submission.

To participate in the bidding process, the bidder’s net worth should be greater than or equal to ₹8 million (~$109,443)/MW of the quoted capacity as of the last date of the last financial year. The bidder’s minimum annual turnover should be ₹4.14 million (~$56,636)/MW of the quoted capacity during the last financial year. The bidder’s internal resource generation capability in the form of profit before depreciation, interest, and taxes (PBDIT) should be a minimum of ₹830,000 (~$11,354)/MW of the quoted capacity. To meet the project’s working capital requirement, the bidder must produce a sanction letter from the lending institution committing a line of credit for a minimum amount of ₹1.03 million (~$14,090)/MW of the quoted capacity.

In November last year, SECI’s auction for 1,070 MW of solar projects in Rajasthan set a record-low lowest) tariff of ₹2 (~$0.0270)/kWh (Tranche-III). This tariff was about 15.3% lower than SECI’s previous low of ₹2.36 (~$0.0319)/kWh discovered in its auction for 2 GW of the interstate transmission system (ISTS) connected solar projects (Tranche IX) back in June 2020.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Tender Tracker, SECI has issued 2,570 MW of solar projects under Tranche I, II, and III in Rajasthan.