SJVN, a joint venture between the Government of India and the Government of Himachal Pradesh, has invited bids to select renewable developers for the supply of 1,500 MW of power from interstate transmission system (ISTS)-connected renewable energy projects with energy storage capacities across India.

The projects must be developed on a build, own, and operate basis. Developers who have already commissioned renewable energy or storage projects or are constructing such projects and have untied capacity may also participate in the bid.

The last date to submit the bids is July 20, 2023. Bids will be opened the following day.

Bidders will have to submit ₹1.5 million (~$18,291) + 18% GST for each project as a bid processing fee and ₹1.226 million (~$14,949)/MW of the quoted capacity per project as an earnest money deposit.

The successful bidder must furnish an amount equivalent to ₹3.065 million (~$37,375)/MW of the allotted capacity as a performance bank guarantee before signing the power purchase agreement (PPA).

SJVN will enter into a PPA with the successful bidder for 25 years.

The minimum quantum of power that can be offered by the bidder is 50 MW, and the maximum is 750 MW. However, the minimum quantum of contracted capacity the bidder can offer for projects in northeastern and special category states will be 30 MW.

The contracted capacity should be quoted in multiples of 10 MW only.

To be eligible, the net worth of bidders should be equal to or greater than ₹12.26 million (~$149,498)/MW of the quoted capacity as of the last day of the previous financial year.

To ascertain that the bidder has sufficient means to manage the fund requirements for the project, they are required to demonstrate at least one of the following parameters:

• The minimum average annual turnover of bidders should be at least ₹18.39 million (~$224,248)/MW of the quoted capacity during the last three financial years.
• They should have an internal resource generation capability in the form of Profit Before Depreciation, Interest, and Taxes (PBDIT) for a minimum amount of ₹3.678 million (~$44,849)/MW of the quoted capacity as of the last day of the previous financial year.
• They should have an in-principle approval letter from the lending institutions committing a line of credit for a minimum amount of ₹7.663 million (~$93,443)/MW of the quoted capacity toward meeting the working capital requirement of the project.

The renewables project developer will be responsible for getting the ISTS connectivity at their own cost, in line with applicable regulations.

To ensure only quality systems are installed and to bring-in advantage of the latest development, only type-certified wind turbine models listed in the Revised List of Models and Manufactures (RLMM) issued by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) will be allowed for deployment under the program.

SJVN has mandated that solar modules listed in the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) issued by MNRE should be used for the projects.

The declared annual capacity utilization factor (CUF) should, in no case, be less than 40%. The developer should maintain generation to achieve annual CUF within + 10% and -15% of the declared value until the end of the PPA duration of 25 years.

Recently, SJVN Green Energy, a subsidiary of SJVN, emerged as one of the successful bidders in Solar Energy Corporation of India’s (SECI) auction of 1.2 GW of ISTS-connected wind power projects (Tranche XIV).

Earlier, MNRE had designated SJVN as the implementing agency responsible for floating tenders for renewable energy projects. It will also act as the intermediary procurer of power and work with other agencies, such as Solar Corporation of India, NTPC, and NHPC, to float tenders and open bids to avoid concurrent bids.

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