Bid submission deadlines for two big solar photovoltaic (PV) tenders of combined capacity 8,000 MW have been extended.

• The Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA) had tendered 500 MW of grid-connected solar PV projects in January 2019. The upper tariff ceiling had been fixed at ₹3.05 (~$0.043)/kWh. The bid submission deadline for this tender is extended to June 17, 2019.
• In January 2019, the Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd. (SECI) had issued a Request for Selection (RfS) for the development of 7,500 MW of grid-connected solar power projects in Leh and Kargil districts of Jammu & Kashmir. The bid submission deadline is extended to August 30, 2019. This is the first extension for this tender.

Of late, the solar industry has seen various tenders getting extensions in the face of poor participation from bidders.

For instance, recently SECI announced yet another bid extension date for its 97.5 MW grid-connected rooftop solar tender. The bid deadline has now been extended to June 17, 2019, from the previous extension date of May 30, 2019.

Recently, the deadline for the manufacturing linked solar tender floated by SECI was also extended again in the hope of better bidder participation. This was the fourth time that SECI decided to extend the bid submission deadline of this tender. The tender was floated for 3 GW of grid-connected solar projects linked with 1.5 GW per annum of solar manufacturing component under global competitive bidding (phase-II).

In May 2019, SECI also notified an extension of the bid submission deadline for 20 MW (AC) floating solar PV power project with 60 MWh Battery Energy Storage System in the union territory of Lakshadweep. The earlier bid submission deadline was set for June 3, 2019, which has now been extended to August 5, 2019.

Image credit: Jakson