SECI Releases Tender for 3-GW Solar Projects with 1.5 GW Manufacturing Capacity

The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has announced that it has released a tender for 3 GW of solar photovoltaic (PV) projects linked with 1.5 GW of yearly manufacturing capacity.

The Request for Selection (RfS) inviting interested parties to present bids by March 18, while proposals will be opened a day later. Bidders have to make offers for at least 1 GW of Interstate Transmission System (ISTS)-connected solar capacity associated with 500 MW of manufacturing capacity. A single bidder can contend for the overall tendered capacity.

The successful bidder will develop their projects on a build, own, operate (BOO) basis and will be awarded 25-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) with SECI. The ceiling tariff they will get is fixed at INR 2.75 per kWh.

Under the tender regulations, developers will be accountable for installing the PV generation and manufacturing capacity, as well as the associated transmission network.

In May 2018, SECI announced a tender for 10 GW of ISTS-connected solar projects linked with 5 GW of manufacturing capacity, which was later reduced to 3 GW. The competition, however, is supposedly close to being canceled due to the weak response from developers.