Seven Companies in Race for 10 GWh Advanced Chemistry Cells Capacity Under PLI

SJVN Green Floats BoS Tender for 400 MW Solar Projects in Maharashtra

SECI Invites Bids for 25 MW Solar Project with 50 MWh Storage in Ladakh

Maxeon Files Patent Infringement Claims Against Three Solar Module Makers

Daily News Wrap-Up: Solar Sector Records 81% Drop in VC Funding in Q1

IREDA’s Profits Surge 46% YoY in Q4 FY 2024 as NPAs Drop

EV Logistics Firm BluWheelz Raises $1 Million in Bridge Funding

Solar Module Manufacturer Premier Energies Files DRHP for ₹15 Billion IPO

Amara Raja Wins BoS Contract for 500 MW Solar Project from Greenko

Sterling and Wilson Posts Profit After 3 Years, Benefits from Falling Module Prices

<p>The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (<a href="https://mnre.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">MNRE</a>) has written to the central and state governments as well as public sector implementing agencies, asking them to follow a set timetable for tendering of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacities. MNRE wrote to the states upon the direction of Minister for Power, Raj Kumar Singh.</p>
<p>Per the letter, “It has been seen that sometimes bids of two organizations clash with each other, thus distorting the market.” It is being thought that by following a timetable for bidding, these organizations can evenly distribute their tender and auction activity throughout the year.</p>
<p>Per the timetable, the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) will have the months of December, March, June, and September for its tender and auction activity. The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and other public sector units will utilize January, April, July, and October for tender and auction activity. Moreover, state implementing agencies will use February, May, August and November for their activity.</p>
<p><a href="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/time.png"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-11113" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/time.png" alt="MNRE Drafts Schedule for Issue of Solar Tenders to Ensure Sustained Activity in the Sector" width="354" height="179" srcset="https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/time.png 354w, https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/time-300x152.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 354px) 100vw, 354px" /></a></p>
<p>The MNRE has requested implementing agencies to follow this timetable in light of the <a href="https://mercomindia.com/mnre-tender-solar-wind-projects-march-2018/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">tender trajectory</a> that was announced earlier. Per the trajectory, 30 GW of solar will be tendered and auctioned in the current and the next financial years (FYs).</p>
<p>When contacted, an MNRE official said, “Rooftop solar tenders will not have to follow this timetable, it is only for large-scale tenders.”</p>
<p>In the past, due to various reasons tendering and auctioning in the Indian solar sector had slowed down. In April 2017, <a href="https://mercomindia.com/mercom-exclusive-solar-tenders-auctions-slowed-india/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mercom reported</a>, “While solar installations in India have picked up speed, tender and auction activity has been slowing down over the last couple of quarters.”</p>
<p>When contacted, a top executive at one of the large solar project developers said, “This is a welcome move by the MNRE. This will give visibility to developers to plan out their participation in these tenders better. They can choose which tenders, in which months will be more amenable to them per their resources.”</p>
<p>But, the executive also raised a question, “How this will get implemented is the issue. Will states agree to what the MNRE is saying? After all, MNRE does not have any authoritative power; it can issue guidelines, it is up to the states to follow. Even then, this is a novel move by MNRE,” added the executive.</p>
<p>In the past, auctions have shown that in a few states historically companies have chosen to stay away from developing projects as conditions, policies are not that conducive for them. So, a question arises, “Won’t this timetable also allow for cherry picking of tenders and auctions by developers?” Developers are more inclined towards auctions by NTPC, SECI compared to state agencies as these organizations are less prone to breach the sanctity of power purchase agreements (PPAs) or delay payments.</p>
<p>When asked about this, an MNRE official said, “Everything has positives and negatives. If according to certain groups, this is going to be the negatives, then we are ready to accept it as the positives far outstrip the negatives. This will boost the solar installation rate in the country drastically.”</p>
<p>Commenting on this initiative undertaken by the government, Chetan Shah, the director of Indian module manufacturer <a href="http://www.goldigreen.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Goldi Green</a>, said, &#8220;This is a welcome step by the MNRE, we were expecting this to happen for a long time. Now, all manufacturers will be able to plan their production and make optimum utilization of existing manufacturing facilities. In our case, we were operating at less than 50 percent of our capacity round the year. Now, with this timetable, developers can plan participation and we can plan production throughout the year. This will also have an effect on the pricing of solar modules&#8221;.</p>
<p>Elaborating further on the implications, Shah said, &#8220;Prices will become more competitive. All now hinges on how MNRE ensures the implementation of this order. In my opinion, MNRE must call a coordination meeting of all stakeholders (manufacturers, EPC firms, developers, government agencies) and form a task-force. This task-force will have representatives from each segment of the sector and will be tasked with monitoring tender and auction activity and ensuring that the calendar is followed.&#8221;</p>
<p>Image credit: Greenskies Renewable Energy</p>
<p>T<em>his article has been updated with a quote from Chetan Shah, the director of Goldi Green</em></p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/saumy/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Saumy Prateek</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/saumy-edited-1.png" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Saumy Prateek</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/saumy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Saumy Prateek</a></p>
</div>
<div class="authorboxn"><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/saumy-edited-1.png" width="79" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/saumy/" rel="noopener"><strong>Saumy Prateek, </strong> </a>is a senior staff reporter with MercomIndia.com covering business and energy news since 2016. Prior to Mercom, Saumy was a copy editor at Thomson Reuters. Saumy earned his Bachelors Degree in Journalism &amp; Mass Communication from the Manipal Institute of Communication at Manipal University.<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/saumy/">More articles from Saumy Prateek.</a></div>
</div></div><div class="clearfix"></div></div></div>

MNRE Drafts Schedule for Issue of Solar Tenders to Ensure Sustained Activity

tender-schedule

Get the most relevant India solar and clean energy news.

RECENT POSTS