The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has announced its intent to float a tender for 1,785 MW of solar projects in Rajasthan (Tranche-IV).

SECI said the projects are to be set up in Rajasthan on a build-own-operate (BOO) basis and that it would sign a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the successful bidders for 25 years. It added that the request for selection documents for these projects would be made available “shortly.”

According to Mercom’s India Solar Tender Tracker, SECI has tendered 2.57 GW of solar projects under Tranches I, II, and III in Rajasthan, of which 2.5 GW of projects were allocated to developers.

Of the allocated projects, about 1.43 GW of large-scale solar projects are under development, and about 1.07 GW are in the pre-construction stage, according to Mercom’s India Solar Project Tracker.

SECI’s Previous Solar Tenders in Rajasthan:

In November 2020, SECI’s auction for 1,070 MW of solar projects in Rajasthan (Tranche-III) discovered a record-low lowest tariff (L1 tariff) of ₹2 (~$0.0274)/kWh. This tariff was about 15.3% lower than SECI’s previous record low tariff of ₹2.36 (~$0.0323)/kWh discovered in its auction for 2 GW of the interstate transmission system (ISTS) connected solar projects (Tranche IX) back in June.

SECI had received bids from 14 companies for a total of 4,350 MW, leaving the tender oversubscribed by 3,280 MW. Eight of the quoted tariffs were below the previous record low of ₹2.36 (~$0.0323)/kWh.

The record-breaking tariff was quoted by Al Jomaiah Energy and Water Company and Green Infra Wind Energy Limited, a subsidiary of Sembcorp, for 200 MW and 400 MW of solar projects, respectively. NTPC Limited quoted the second-lowest bid at ₹2.01 (~$0.0275)/kWh for 600 MW of projects but were only awarded 470 MW under the bucket-filling method.

SECI’s previous tender in Rajasthan for 750 MW of grid-connected solar projects (Tranche-II) saw an L1 tariff of ₹2.50 (~$0.034)/kWh in June 2019. Of the tendered capacity, only 680 MW of solar capacity was awarded. Techno-commercial bids worth 850 MW were qualified, but only 80% of that was awarded.

In February 2019, Mercom reported that SECI’s 750 MW Tranche-I tender was oversubscribed by 1,620 MW and received bids for 2,370 MW. Four solar project developers – Fortum Solar (250 MW), ACME Solar (250 MW), Sitara Solar (100 MW), and Palimarwar Solar (40 MW), had quoted the lowest tariff of ₹2.48 (~$0.0339)/kWh in the auction for these projects.