The Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd. (SECI) recently issued three tenders for the expansion of renewable capacity in the country.

The first tender is for setting up of 1,200 MW of ISTS-connected wind power projects (tranche-VII) on a pan India basis. The detailed Request for Selection (RfS) will be available for downloading by February 22, 2019.

SECI had also tendered the same capacity under Tranche-VI in December 2018.  Ostro Energy (300 MW), Adani Renewables (250 MW), Srijan Energy Systems (150 MW), and Powerica Limited (50.60 MW), have quoted the lowest tariff of ₹2.82 (~$0.040)/kWh in the auction for wind projects issued under Tranche-VI.

The second tender is for the implementation of 1,000 MW grid-connected solar PV power projects by the government producers with viability gap funding (VGF) support.  This capacity has been proposed under Central Public-Sector Unit (CPSU) program phase-II for self-use or use by government or government entities.

The detailed tender document will be available on February 28, 2019.

Earlier, Mercom  reported when the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) proposed developing 7.5 GW of solar by 2022 using domestically manufactured solar cells and modules during the second phase of its CPSU program – an extension to an earlier JNNSM program.

Recently, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the proposal for the implementation of setting up 12,000 MW of grid-connected solar PV power projects under the Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) Phase-ll program by government producers.

Recently, MNRE also announced the guidelines for the payment security mechanism (PSM) for projects allocated under the VGF program. As per MNRE’s guidelines released in 2016, it was required to set up a mechanism with a grant of up to ₹5 billion ($69 million) in order to ensure timely payments for power generated to project developers. The fund has been released to SECI in tranches which was made available to the MNRE by the Ministry of Finance.

The PSM fund of ₹5 billion will be made available to cover energy payment risk from grid-connected solar PV projects under the 750 MW, 2,000 MW and 5,000 MW VGF programs.

The third tender is for the implementation of 97.5 MW of grid-connected rooftop solar PV projects for government buildings in different states and union territories under CAPEX or RESCO model under global competitive bidding.

The detailed tender document will be available on February 21, 2019.

Nitin is a staff reporter at Mercomindia.com and writes on renewable energy and related sectors. Prior to Mercom, Nitin has worked for CNN IBN, India News, Agricultural Spectrum and Bureaucracy Today. He received his bachelor’s degree in Journalism & Communication from Manipal Institute of Communication at Manipal University and Master’s degree in International Relations from Jindal School of International Affairs. More articles from Nitin Kabeer