Solar tender activity slowed down while there were no auctions in November 2019. While the month did not see any auctions, only 734 MW of solar tenders were floated, according to Mercom India Solar Tender Tracker.

In October 2019, 2.7 GW of solar capacity was tendered, and 1.3 GW of solar projects were auctioned.

Year-over-year, the capacity tendered in November 2019 declined by nearly 49% compared to November 2018, which saw tender announcements of over 1.4 GW of solar projects.

A quick recap of the major tenders that have been pushed to December:

The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) extended the bid submission date of its 1 GW solar tender. The tender was issued in October 2019. The revised date for bid submission has been set for December 3, 2019.

The Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) extended the bid submission deadline for its 7.5 GW solar tender for Leh and Kargil districts. The bid submission deadline has now been extended up to January 31, 2020. The earlier deadline was November 29, 2019.

SECI also extended the bid submission date for its tender for 1.2 GW of the interstate transmission system (ISTS)- connected renewable energy projects with a guaranteed peak power supply (ISTS-VII). The deadline has now been extended up to December 16, 2019, from the previously set deadline of November 29, 2019.

Nearly 10 GW of solar tenders, which had their bid submission deadlines in November have now been extended to December 2019.

Technical Bids

SECI also announced the amendment for its tender for setting up 7 GW of solar projects coupled with 2 GW of the manufacturing component. The technical bids for the projects have been opened, but the auction is not yet concluded. The tender was oversubscribed by 1 GW.

Technical bids have opened for another tender that called for 113.5 MW of solar projects issued by the Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation Limited (RRECL). The RRECL’s solar tender for 113.5 MW of decentralized solar projects in the state was oversubscribed by 38 MW.

Major Tenders

A recap of the major tender that was announced in November 2019.

The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) issued a Request for Selection (RfS) for the long-term procurement of power from 500 MW of intra-state solar power projects (Phase-IV).

A tariff of ₹2.90 (~$0.041)/kWh was set for this tender.

Another major tender announcement that took place in November 2019 was the 100 MW solar project by Coal India Limited (CIL) that issued an Expression of Interest (EOI). The pilot project is will be set up in the state of Chattisgarh for captive consumption to help it meet its solar target set by the government.

The government expects the coal producer to become a net-zero energy company by setting up 3,000 MW of solar power projects in the country.

The Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) issued a tender for setting up 50 MW of grid-connected solar projects. The projects are to be developed under the developer model in design-build-operate-transfer (DBOT) mode at Panchet in Jharkhand.

In November 2019, the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) floated a tender for the construction and installation of a 15 MW solar project at its Vagra site in Bharuch district of Gujarat.

Other tender announcements in November 2019 include some rooftop and ground mount solar projects.

The Uttarkhand Power Corporation and Punjab Energy Development Agency issued tenders for rooftop solar of 10 MW each while, the NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited and Maharashtra Energy Development Agency (MEDA) issued tenders for 7.2 MW and 3.65 MW, respectively.

Image credit: Axium Solar

Anjana is a news editor at Mercom India. Before joining Mercom, she held roles of senior editor, district correspondent, and sub-editor for The Times of India, Biospectrum and The Sunday Guardian. Before that, she worked at the Deccan Herald and the Asianlite as chief sub-editor and news editor. She has also contributed to The Quint, Hindustan Times, The New Indian Express, Reader’s Digest (UK edition), IndiaSe (Singapore-based magazine) and Asiaville. Anjana holds a Master’s degree in Geography from North Bengal University, and a diploma in mass communication and journalism from Guru Ghasidas University, Bhopal.