Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), a government owned company is planning to develop 300 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in captive mode on vacant lands at various locations of the company. The company has estimated the entire capacity development to cost approximately ₹13,615 million (~$199.9 million) through a debt equity ratio of 70:30.

Per SCCL, the debt portion of ₹9,530 million (~$139 million) will be met through banks and foreign investors and equity portion of ₹4,085 million (~$ 59.6 million) will be met through SCCL’s internal resources. The SCCL board has approved detailed project reports for nine solar projects.

The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and Telangana State Renewable Energy Development Corporation (TSREDCO) had prepared the reports. The SCCL has invited expression of interest (EoI) from interested parties for funding of individual projects.

Transmission Corporation of Telangana (TSTRANSCO) will provide grid-connectivity for the projects.

Now, SECI has issued a tender to award engineering procurement construction (EPC) contracts for development of 150 MW solar PV capacity spread across various locations of SCCL. This is a domestic competitive bidding tender.

The scope of work includes the design, engineering, supply, construction, erection, testing, and commissioning of the grid-connected solar PV projects. The successful bidders will be responsible for comprehensive operation and maintenance of the projects.

When contacted about the details of the tender, a SECI official said, “The tender document will be up on August 6, 2018.”

Recently, the Ministry of Power amended the guidelines relating to captive generation projects in India.