Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has invited bids to select developers to set up 1,000 MW of inter-state transmission system (ISTS)-connected solar power projects (Tranche XVIII).

The last day to submit the bids is October 4, 2024. Bids will be opened on October 9.

Bidders must pay a document fee of ₹50,000 (~$595) and a bid processing fee of ₹20,000 (~$238)/MW.

They must also submit ₹942,000 (~$11,223)/MW as an earnest money deposit.

Selected bidders must furnish ₹2.35 million (~$27,998)/MW per project as a performance bank guarantee.

They must also pay success charges of ₹100,000 (~$1,191) per MW of contracted capacity to SECI to cover administrative costs, project monitoring, and coordination with state authorities.

Successful bidders must pay ₹0.02 (~$0.00024)/ KWh to SECI as payment security mechanism charges.

The bidders’ net worth should be at least ₹9.42 million (~$112,231)/MW of the quoted capacity as of the last date of the previous financial year or on the day at least seven days before the bid submission deadline.

Their minimum annual turnover must be ₹3.69 million (~$43,962)/MW of the quoted capacity during the last three financial years.

Bidders must have an internal resource generation capability in the form of profit before depreciation interest and taxes for a minimum of ₹739,150 (~$8,806)/MW of the quoted capacity, as on the last date of the previous financial year or as on the day at least seven days before the bid submission deadline.

They must present an in-principle sanction letter from their lending institutions or banks, committing a line of credit for a minimum of ₹923,950 (~$11,007)/MW of the quoted capacity towards meeting the working capital requirement of the quoted project capacity.

Each bidder, including its parent companies or affiliates, must submit a single bid offering a minimum of 50 MW and a maximum of 500 MW of cumulative contracted capacity. Projects can be located anywhere in India, with renewable energy components (including storage) either co-located or at different sites. These components can connect to the ISTS network at various substations.

SECI allows partial commencement of power supply from projects, with a minimum accepted capacity of 50 MW for the first and subsequent phases, with the final phase fulfilling the remaining contracted capacity.

The modules used in the project must be listed in the latest Approved List of Models and Manufacturers issued by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

SECI has also invited bids from developers for the assured peak supply of 8,000 MWh (2000 MW x 4 hours) of renewable energy from ISTS-connected projects under tariff-based competitive bidding (FDRE-VI).

Subscribe to Mercom’s India Solar Tender Tracker to stay on top of real-time tender activity.