SECI Issues NIT for 1800 MW ISTS-Connected Wind Power Projects in India

The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has announced that it has tender inviting bids for setting up of 1800 MW ISTS-Connected Wind Power Projects (Tranche-VIII) on a pan India basis.

The comprehensive Request for Selection (RfS) Document shall be accessible for downloading by March 29, 2019, onwards. Lately, amongst a host of other tenders being issued by the nodal agency for renewables in the country, the Tranche-VII tender for the development of 1200 MW of ISTS-connected wind power projects in India was issued.

SECI’s Tranche-VI Wind Energy Tender, for 1.2 GW, witnessed a total of nine developers make bids totaling 2325 MW for the 1200 MW tender.

Softbank promoted SB Energy made the biggest bid for 600 MW, trailed by ReNew Power, EDF, and ENEL who bid for 300 MW each, whereas Engie and Adani made bids for 250 MW each. Continuum and Ecoren made bids for 150 MW and 125 MW each, while Powerica made a 50 MW bid. This tender had a tariff ceiling of Rs 2.85, and while we await exact numbers, our sources confirm that bids are actually lower than the ones received in the Tranche 5 tender, ie, Rs 2.76 and above.

The Tranche 6 tender came at a mostly testing time for SECI and developers, with bids acknowledged in Tranche 1 to 5 stuck due to a change in land policy in Gujarat, a key state for wind developers, besides Tamil Nadu.

With Tranche 6 bidders qualifying for deliberation under the reviewed laws, developers would feel a lot more positive about quicker movement in this case, as would a concerned SECI.