After witnessing a huge surge in tender announcements in June 2019, the tender and auction activity slowed down in July. Nearly 800 MW of solar projects were tendered, 300 MW retendered, while no auctions were recorded during the month.

When compared with June 2019, in which over 13 GW of solar capacity had been tendered, and around 1.9 GW auctioned, activity in July was sluggish. Year-over-year, the capacity tendered in July 2019 was about 324 MW higher than the capacity tendered in July 2018. On the other hand, solar auctions of almost 6 GW were conducted in July 2018, the highest in 2018.

There were around 3 GW of solar tenders supposed to be auctioned in July, according to Mercom’s India Solar Tender Tracker. However, due to technical issues and lack of interest from developers, the tenders were postponed to the next month. For instance, the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC)’s two tenders of 1,000 MW capacity each which were issued in June 2019 and the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI)’s 1.2 GW capacity under ISTS-V that had a bid submission deadline of July 2019, has been extended to August 2019.

In March 2019, SECI had floated 2,000 MW of grid-connected solar PV projects under the second phase of the Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) program. The tender was undersubscribed by 932 MW and bids totaling 1,068 MW were submitted by various government entities in July 2019. In the past few months, several SECI’s tenders have been undersubscribed, indicating poor interest from the developers largely due to tariff caps.

Here is a quick recap of the major tenders that were announced in July 2019:

Major Tenders

Adani Electricity Mumbai Limited (AEML) has issued a tender for 350 MW of grid-connected wind-solar hybrid power projects to meet its renewable purchase obligation (RPO) target. An additional 350 MW capacity has been tendered under the greenshoe option of the global competitive bidding process. A maximum bid of 700 MW capacity can be offered by an interested bidder, including the 350 MW offered under the greenshoe option. The hybrid projects can be set up anywhere in India on a build own operate (BOO) basis.

Oil India Limited (OIL) issued a tender to develop 100 MW of solar project capacity anywhere in India under the second phase of the central government’s CPSU program. Oil major Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) also floated a tender for 1,050 kW of solar PV systems at Guwahati Refinery.

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) issued a tender for the supply of balance of system (BoS) items for the installation and commissioning of two grid-connected solar PV projects with a combined capacity of 69 MW. The two projects are a 39 MW solar project at Yellandu and a 30 MW solar project at Manuguru. Both the projects are located in Bhadadri Kothagudem district of Telangana.

Retendered

The Haryana Power Purchase Company (HPCC) on behalf of the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) retendered 300 MW of solar projects to be developed in the state which it had initially floated in January 2019. The tender was set with an upper tariff ceiling of ₹3 (~$0.043)/kWh for the entire 25-year tenure of the power purchase agreement (PPA). Due to the lack of desired response from the bidders, the HPCC has retendered the capacity.