The Solar Energy Corporation of India has (SECI) tendered 275 MW of grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) projects to be developed in the Uttar Pradesh Solar Park.

SECI confirmed to Mercom that all the projects will be developed in areas near Varanasi and the power from these projects will be supplied to the city exclusively. SECI will enter into a power sale agreement with Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL). The six project sites in two districts in the state of Uttar Pradesh, include, Gujrai, Parasan, Gurhah, Makreccha and Banghauli and Tikar.

The announcement is in line with the central government’s trajectory of tendering 3 GW in the month of January 2018.

These projects have been tendered under the government’s National Solar Mission (NSM) Phase-II Batch-IV and will be developed on a ‘build own operate’ basis. The developers will enter Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with SECI for a period of 25 years. A single bidder can bid to develop the entire capacity or part of the capacity offered.

The grid-connected solar PV projects must be commissioned within 12 months from the effective date of the PPA. The SECI has fixed ₹3.43 (~$0.054)/kWh as the upper tariff ceiling for these tenders. The scope of work includes design, supply, construction, erection, testing and commissioning of the projects.

The bid-submission deadline is February 9, 2018. The PPAs will be signed within one month of the issue of Letter of Intent (LoI).

This development provides credence to Mercom India’s prediction that tender and auction activity in the solar sector in India will increase multifold in the coming months as the government scrambles to achieve the target of 100 GW of solar by 2022. As reported by Mercom recently, solar tender and auction activity rose exponentially in December 2017.

Click here to download tender document.