SJVN Limited, a joint venture between the Union Government and the Government of Himachal Pradesh, has floated two tenders for land procurement to set up solar projects in Himachal Pradesh and Punjab.

In the first tender, SJVN has invited bids for the purchase or lease of up to 500 acres of land for 28 years to set up solar power projects in the state of Himachal Pradesh, inclusive of chain link fencing around the periphery of the land.

The last date to submit the bids online is March 8, 2022. Bids will be opened on the same day.

The land offered for purchase or lease in Himachal Pradesh should not be less than 50 acres as a single connected parcel. A maximum of 10 land parcels at different locations cumulating to a maximum of 500 acres may be offered.

However, SJVN will reserve the right to purchase the land as offered or lesser than the total land offered subject to fulfillment of the tender conditions, in line with its requirements and future business strategy.

If the land is offered on lease, the lease will be for 28 years.

The nearest part of the land offered must not be at an aerial distance of more than 10 km from the state transmission utility grid substation, where the estimated spare capacity will be 10 MW (for 50 acres of land), 20 MW (for 100 acres of land) and so on.

Also, the land should have a minimum annual global horizontal irradiance of 1650/kWh/m2. The land offered must be a single connected patch, and the minimum width of the offered land at any place within the patch should be 30 m.

The land offered must not be in or within the prohibited range of any wildlife-protected area or defense establishment. There should be no government restriction in setting up solar power projects on the offered land.

In the other tender, SJVN Limited has invited bids for the purchase or lease of up to 500 acres of land for 28 years to set up solar power projects in Punjab, inclusive of chain link fencing around the periphery of the land.

The last date to submit the bids online is March 7, 2022. Bids will be opened on the same day.

Interested bidders will have to submit an earnest money deposit of ₹1 million (~$13,315) for 500 acres of land and ₹500,000 (~$6,657) for the land parcel of 250 acres.

The land offered for purchase or lease in Punjab should not be less than 250 acres as a single connected parcel. A maximum of two land parcels at different locations cumulating to a maximum of 500 acres may be offered.

SJVN, in this case, too, will reserve the right to purchase the land as offered or lesser than the total land offered subject to fulfillment of the tender conditions, in line with its requirements and future business strategy.

The nearest part of the land offered must not be at an aerial distance of more than 10 km from the STU grid substation with the estimated spare capacity of 100 MW (for 500 acres of land) and 50 MW (for 250 acres of land).

The land offered must be a single connected patch, and the minimum width of the offered land at any place within the patch shall be 200 m.

The land offered must not be in or within the prohibited range of any wildlife-protected area or defense establishment. There should be no government restriction in setting up solar power projects on the offered land.

Last May, SJVN invited bids for the end-to-end services, including design, engineering, supply, erection, testing, and commissioning a 75 MW solar project at Parasan Solar Park in Uttar Pradesh.

Earlier, SJVN had issued a notice inviting bids to purchase or lease 1,250 acres of land for setting up solar power projects in Bihar.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Tender Tracker, SJVN Limited has so far floated tenders for 1.28 GW of solar projects across the country.