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					</table><p>Bharat Electronics (<a href="https://bel-india.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BEL</a>) has invited bids to develop a wind project of 4 MW to 5 MW capacity in Karnataka.</p>
<p>The selected developer must also oversee the project’s comprehensive operation and maintenance (O&amp;M) for 25 years.</p>
<p>The project should be commissioned within 15 months of receiving the work order.</p>
<p>The last day to submit the bids is April 10, 2023. The bids will be opened the next day.</p>
<p>Bidders must submit an earnest money deposit of ₹1 million (~$12,218). The successful bidder must remit 10% of the total order value as a performance bank guarantee.</p>
<p>The developer must provide a performance bank guarantee worth ₹4 million (~$48,873) before the end of the warranty period.</p>
<p>The guarantee must be valid for one year and renewed annually or extended for up to eight years after the post-warranty period, which is ten years from the commissioning date.</p>
<p>Bidders must possess enough land in suitable wind zones in Karnataka.</p>
<p>The agency must be a manufacturer or an original equipment manufacturer authorized supplier with a valid type certificate or approval from the National Institute for Wind Energy for wind electric generators.</p>
<p>The wind turbines used in the project should be procured from suppliers listed in the Revised List of Models and Manufacturers issued by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). The turbines must be produced in India, and the manufacturers should have O&amp;M facilities in India. The turbine must be of 1,000 kW rating and above.</p>
<p>Bidders must have completed a similar project within the past seven years involving designing, manufacturing, supplying, installing, testing, and commissioning a wind project of at least 2 MW at a single project location in India.</p>
<p>The bidders must have had an average annual turnover of ₹105 million (~$1.3 million) in the last three financial years.</p>
<p>Private land offered must have a clear title and be transferable to BEL upon sale. If the bidder privately owns the land, it should be transferred to BEL for 25 years.</p>
<p>If the land is government-owned, the bidder must deposit the requisite amount to the revenue department, and a suitable agreement must be signed with an authorized agency. The land then should be sub-leased to BEL for at least 25 years.</p>
<p>The Ministry of New &amp; Renewable Energy recently announced that it will <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/mnre-renewable-energy-bidding-trajectory" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issue</a> renewable project bids worth 50 GW annually for the financial years 2024-28, which includes at least 10 GW of wind tenders.</p>
<p>A Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy report issued last month <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/mnre-renewable-energy-bidding-trajectory" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a> underwhelming progress on wind energy projects as a primary reason India fell short of achieving its renewable energy capacity target of 175 GW by 2022.</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/arjun-joshi/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Arjun Joshi</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/2022/04/Arjun-Joshi-1.png" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Arjun Joshi,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/arjun-joshi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Arjun Joshi.</a></p>
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<p><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Arjun-Joshi-1.png" width="86" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/arjun-joshi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong style="color: #00b451">Arjun Joshi</strong> </a>is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Before joining Mercom, he worked as a technical writer for enterprise resource software companies based in India and abroad. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism, Psychology, and Optional English from Garden City University, Bangalore. <a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/arjun-joshi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Arjun Joshi.</a></p>
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Bharat Electronics Invites Bids to Develop 4-5 MW Wind Project in Karnataka


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					</table><p>The Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (<a href="https://www.orierc.org/(S(y3vjgwsoyynlx50fznxnieet))/default.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">OERC</a>) recently directed the Odisha Power Transmission Corporation (<a href="https://optcl.co.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">OPTCL</a>) and Bharat Electronics (<a href="https://bel-india.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BEL</a>) to finalize the contracted capacity for the transmission of power utilizing the transmission network of OPTCL for long-term access.</p>
<p>It directed the parties to amend the transmission capacity access agreement (TCAA) between them.</p>
<p>The state regulator added that BEL could not be exempted from paying under injection charges to GRIDCO if the power injected from its captive power project was less than what was scheduled.</p>
<p>Further, the Commission rejected BEL’s request to grant a net metering mechanism for its 7.5 MW solar captive power project.</p>
<p>The Commission noted that as per the existing net metering and bi-directional metering and their connectivity order, the upper limit of the installed capacity of the solar power project should be 500 kW to avail the benefit of net metering.</p>
<p>In contrast, the installed capacity of BEL’s captive power project was 7.5 MW. Hence the net metering facility was not available for the captive power project.</p>
<p>OPTCL and BEL had filed two separate petitions with the state Commission. OPTCL had sought directions to BEL for the payment of open access charges. BEL had requested the Commission to adjudicate the dispute on the ‘arbitrary, illegal levy and collection’ of various open access charges under the Open Access Regulations 2020.</p>
<p><strong>Background</strong></p>
<p>BEL has a solar captive power project of 7.5 MW capacity at the Ordnance factory, Badmala, in the Bolangir district of Odisha. BEL entered into a  transmission capacity access agreement with OPTCL on August 7, 2018, per OERC Open Access Regulations 2005, to avail open access for its solar power to the ordnance factory for 25 years through the transmission network of OPTCL on payment of long-term open access charges.</p>
<p>OPTCL noted that the agreement nowhere provided that in the case the Open Access Regulations 2005 were repealed, BEL would be governed by the new regulations.</p>
<p>As per the Open Access Regulations 2020, OPTCL had to raise transmission bills to BEL based on its contracted capacity from November 2020.</p>
<p>In the absence of any declared contracted capacity by the captive power generator, OPTCL raised the transmission charge bills to BEL from November 2020, considering the contracted capacity as 7.35 MW for FY 2021, which was the maximum scheduled injection observed during FY 2020.</p>
<p>However, BEL protested this new billing method and suggested OPTCL to raise the transmission charges based on the scheduled generation or the actual wheeled units for the month and continue to pay the transmission charges based on the scheduled injection energy.</p>
<p>BEL submitted that the Commission enforced new Open Access Regulations 2020 by repealing the earlier Open Access Regulations 2005. Regulation 44 of the Open Access Regulations 2020 has a provision for non-applicability of the said regulations on existing open access customers to the intrastate transmission and distribution system where there is an existing agreement.</p>
<p>In light of the above, the levy of revised transmission charges by OPTCL is illegal and has no basis in law.</p>
<p>BEL added that owing to the lack of a banking facility, approximately 3 to 4 MU per annum was being injected by them into the state grid free of cost with undue enrichment of GRIDCO, which caused a loss of revenue.</p>
<p>GRIDCO initially agreed to buy the surplus solar power at ₹4.50 (~$0.055)/kWh for 25 years after the captive consumption by the ordnance factory but refused to purchase the excess solar power.</p>
<p>Further, the captive power generator stated that GRIDCO was levying Deviation Settlement Mechanism (DSM) charges on BEL, which was illegal since the Commission had not formulated any regulations for levying DSM charges.</p>
<p><strong>Commission’s analysis</strong></p>
<p>The Commission observed that the agreement states that the open access transaction between BEL and OPTCL should be governed per the provisions of Open Access Regulations, 2005.</p>
<p>However, per the Open Access Regulations 2020, the transmission charges should be payable based on the contracted capacity for long-term and medium-term open access customers.</p>
<p>Since the term ‘contracted capacity’ had neither been defined in the regulations nor the TCAA, OPTCL had claimed transmission charges based on the contracted capacity of 7.35 MW for FY 2021 and 5 MW for FY 2022 based on the maximum scheduled injection for the previous year and 1.814 MW for the FY 2023. BEL intimated OPTCL to consider a contracted capacity of 1.814 MW for FY 2023.</p>
<p>The Commission noted that it would be prudent to compute the transmission charges for open access transactions by BEL considering the 1.814 MW for FY 2021 and FY 2022. It directed both parties to finalize the contracted power transmission capacity utilizing the transmission network of OPTCL for long-term access and accordingly make amendments to their agreement.</p>
<p>OERC noted that even if it was found that GRIDCO adopted the rates of CERC’s DSM Regulations to impose penalty in case of lesser or higher injection into the grid, in the absence of separate DSM Regulations, the same could not be termed illegal.</p>
<p>BEL could convince GRIDCO to purchase surplus solar power from its captive power project through an agreement at a mutually agreed rate, the Commission said.</p>
<p>It further advised GRIDCO to explore the possibility of entering into PPA with BEL to purchase surplus power from its solar captive power project at a negotiated price, as it may require such power to meet its renewable purchase obligation in the future.</p>
<p>Earlier, OERC had <a href="https://mercomindia.com/odisha-proposes-revisions-deviation-settlement-regulations/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> the revised draft ‘Deviation, Settlement Mechanism, and Related Matters Regulations, 2022’ to ensure that users of the grid adhere to their schedule of drawal and injection of electricity for the security and stability of the grid.</p>
<p>Subscribe to Mercom’s real-time <a href="https://mercomindia.com/product/mercoms-renewable-energy-regulatory-updates/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Regulatory Updates </a>to ensure you don’t miss any critical updates from the renewable industry.</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/rakesh-ranjan-parashar/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Rakesh Ranjan</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/2022/02/Rakesh-Headshot-crop-2.jpg" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Rakesh Ranjan,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/rakesh-ranjan-parashar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Rakesh Ranjan.</a></p>
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<p><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Rakesh-Headshot-crop-2.jpg" width="77" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/rakesh-ranjan-parashar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong style="color: #00b451">Rakesh Ranjan</strong></a> is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Prior to joining Mercom, he worked in many roles as a business correspondent, assistant editor, senior content writer, and sub-editor with bcfocus.com, CIOReview/Silicon India, Verbinden Communication, and Bangalore Bias. Rakesh holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). <a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/rakesh-ranjan-parashar/" rel="noopener noreferrer">More articles from Rakesh Ranjan.</a></p>
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Regulator Directs Captive Solar Power Generator to Pay Transmission Charges

<p>Bharat Electronics Limited (<a href="https://bel-india.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BEL</a>), a government-owned electronics manufacturer and supplier, has invited bids for the supply of 609,550 multicrystalline silicon solar cells.</p>
<p>The last date to submit the bids is February 10, 2021. Bids will be opened on February 11.</p>
<p>The tender is for the supply of six-inch multicrystalline silicon solar cells of 157mm X 157mm (± 0.25mm) in dimension. The thickness of the solar cells should be a minimum of 180 microns, and the cell power should be at least 4.56 Wp.</p>
<p>BEL will inspect the solar cells at the vendor&#8217;s premises before giving clearance for solar cells&#8217; supply. The vendor should supply a minimum of 500 solar cells (samples of ≥ 4.56Wp cells should meet the module output of ≥ 325 Wp) to BEL for approval before the bulk supply.</p>
<p>The solar cells are to be supplied in boxes and suitably packed to avoid damage in transit and should be kept in polythene and polypropylene sachets. Each sachet should not contain more than 100 cells, and one box should contain solar cells in the power band of 0.05 W.</p>
<p>Recently, BEL <a href="https://mercomindia.com/bel-invites-bids-for-modules/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">invited</a> bids for the supply of polycrystalline solar modules for 2.86 MW of grid-connected solar power projects at Akola and Amravati in Maharashtra. The company has <a href="https://mercomindia.com/bel-provides-solar-powered-classrooms/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">provided</a> solar-powered smart class facilities to 122 government high schools at Yadgir, Karnataka, as a part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative.</p>
<p>Technology shift in the solar industry has been happening across the globe. India, a notoriously cost-sensitive market, has also almost entirely <a href="https://mercomindia.com/goodbye-polycrystalline-solar-modules-bifacial/https:/mercomindia.com/goodbye-polycrystalline-solar-modules-bifacial/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">moved</a> away from the polycrystalline to the more efficient monocrystalline cells, and more recently, monocrystalline passivated emitter and rear cell (PERC), popularly called the mono PERC.</p>
<p>With the cost gaps and price premiums between these advanced technologies and the conventional ones are quickly shrinking, India has been moving towards more efficient technologies including the bifacial solar modules.</p>
<p>Mercom recently <a href="https://mercomindia.com/mono-perc-bifacial-lead-few-years/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">hosted</a> a webinar on “Module Technologies and Trends Dominating the Indian Solar Market.” The consensus among the webinar participants was that mono PERC and bifacial would have a large market for the next two to three years.</p>
<p>According to Mercom&#8217;s <a href="https://mercomindia.com/product/india-solar-tender-tracker/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">India Solar Tender Tracker</a>, BEL has so far floated tenders for 798,430 solar cells.</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/rakesh-ranjan-parashar/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Rakesh Ranjan</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/2022/02/Rakesh-Headshot-crop-2.jpg" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Rakesh Ranjan,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/rakesh-ranjan-parashar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Rakesh Ranjan.</a></p>
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<p><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Rakesh-Headshot-crop-2.jpg" width="77" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/rakesh-ranjan-parashar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong style="color: #00b451">Rakesh Ranjan</strong></a> is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Prior to joining Mercom, he worked in many roles as a business correspondent, assistant editor, senior content writer, and sub-editor with bcfocus.com, CIOReview/Silicon India, Verbinden Communication, and Bangalore Bias. Rakesh holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). <a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/rakesh-ranjan-parashar/" rel="noopener noreferrer">More articles from Rakesh Ranjan.</a></p>
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Bharat Electronics Invites Bids for the Supply of 609,550 Multicrystalline Solar Cells

<p>Bharat Electronics Limited (<a href="http://www.bel-india.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BEL</a>) announced that it had provided solar-powered smart class facilities to 122 government high schools at Yadgir, Karnataka, as a part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative.</p>
<p>In its press statement, BEL said that the smart class facilities included a 50 inch LED television, CPU with accessories, green board, LED lights, and cabinets to store all equipment. All equipment is powered by a standalone solar photovoltaic (PV) power system with battery. The total cost of the project is ₹38.4 million (~$513,229.81), it added.</p>
<p>In November 2019, Mercom reported that BEL <a href="https://mercomindia.com/bel-issues-tender-solar-powered-classrooms-karnataka/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">issued</a> a Request for Selection (RfS) for setting up 122 solar-powered smart class facilities in government high schools at Yadgir. The total capacity of the project was 36.6 kW. The scope of work included the design, supply, testing, installation, and successful commissioning of the smart class hardware and educational digital content, including five years of an annual maintenance contract.</p>
<p>BEL said that the solar-powered classroom could help improve students’ academic performance as it would provide visual content for students to digest information easily. It would also help tutors to describe the complex concept simply through visual content. High school students can learn subjects like science, mathematics, social science, and English according to the state syllabus via digital content, it added.</p>
<p>BEL also installed hand-wash facilities in 100 government primary schools at the cost of ₹10.2 million (~$136,323) in Yadgir. The company said that it had started various projects in Yadgir and Raichur districts of Karnataka as a part of its CSR under the Government of India’s key initiative called Transformation of Aspirational Districts.</p>
<p>CSR funds can be an <a href="https://mercomindia.com/csr-funds-effective-tool-solar-expansion/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">effective</a> tool for solar expansion. The concept of CSR, which was introduced through the Companies Act 2013, puts the onus on companies to formulate policies which will help in uplifting the community.</p>
<p>Earlier, it was reported that the Himachal Pradesh Energy Development Agency (HIMURJA) invited bidders to bid for the <a href="https://mercomindia.com/himachal-pradesh-tender-solar-schools/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">installation</a> of solar projects at 312 middle schools in 11 districts of the state. The project installations will be executed under the state’s ‘Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan’ program.</p>
<p>Image credit: ARP Solar</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/harsh-shukla/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Harsh Shukla</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><p><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Harsh-Shukla-293x300-1-new.jpg" width="99" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/harsh-shukla/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong style="color: #00b451">Harsh Shukla</strong> </a>is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Previously with Indian Express, he has covered general interest stories. He holds a Masters Degree in Journalism from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune.</p>
<p><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/harsh-shukla/">More articles from Harsh Shukla.</a></p>
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BEL Provides Solar-Powered Classrooms to 122 Schools in Karnataka

<p>The government-owned electronics manufacturer and supplier, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has issued a request for quotation (RfQ) for the procurement of 798,430 monocrystalline silicon solar cells.</p>
<p>The government undertaking has mandated that these solar cells have to be manufactured in India.</p>
<p>BEL is looking to procure cells of ≥ 4.545 Wp. The thickness of these cells should be 180 microns, and the dimensions should be 157 X 157 (±0.25mm). Vendors will have to give their quote for A-category solar cells and also submit technical compliance statements for the same.</p>
<p>For this tender, the prospective bidders are expected to provide test certificates that indicate the power output, voltage, current, fill factor, and temperature coefficient of the cells. According to the tender documents, BEL will carry out quality inspection of the cells as well. Further, BEL has also set specific guidelines for packaging the solar cells.</p>
<p>Bidders will be selected based on the lowest cumulative cost quoted for the solar cells.</p>
<p>The last date for the submission of bids is October 10, 2019.</p>
<p><a href="https://mercomindia.com/reil-tenders-solar-cells-module/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Recently</a>, Rajasthan Electronics and Instruments Limited (REIL), another government-owned manufacturer of electronic products, issued three separate notices inviting tenders for rate contracts for the procurement of 4.5 W solar cells, 4.6 W solar cells, and module mounting structures.</p>
<p><a href="https://mercomindia.com/cel-calls-domestic-manufacturers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">In August 2019</a>, Central Electronics Limited had issued a tender to procure 100,000 chip solar cells of 2.97 W capacity from domestic manufacturers.</p>
<p>According to solar module manufacturers, monocrystalline products can lead to higher yields from solar energy projects. In an <a href="https://mercomindia.com/indian-solar-market-mono-perc/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">in-depth report,</a> Mercom analyzed if the Indian solar market is ready to transition to mono PERC cell technology. The consensus in the solar industry is that it is gradually shifting towards monocrystalline cell technology from the more common multi-crystalline cells and modules.</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/shaurya-bajaj/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">shaurya</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><p><span style="font-family: Calibri"><span style="color: #000000"><span>Shaurya is a staff reporter at MercomIndia.com with experience working in the Indian solar energy industry for the past four years in various roles. Prior to joining Mercom, Shaurya worked with a renewable energy developer and a consulting company. Shaurya holds a Bachelors Degree in Business Management from Lancaster University in the United Kingdom. </span></span></span></p>
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Bharat Electronics Seeks Bidders to Procure Monocrystalline Solar Cells

<p>The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) has passed a ruling stating that the benefits of net metering are limited to rooftop solar installations of up to 1 MW.</p>
<p>MERC was responding to a petition filed by Bharat Electronics Limited (<a href="http://bel-india.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BEL</a>), a government of India Enterprise under the Ministry of Defence (MoD), requesting clearance for the implementation of 3 MW solar power project with a net metering facility on the Ordinance Ammunition Factory in Khadki (AFK), Pune. The project did not qualify because of its size.</p>
<p>In the case of the BEL project, the 3 MW captive solar system falls under the MERC’s provision for open access. Power generated under open access attracts additional charges such as wheeling charges, a cross-subsidy surcharge, and MSLDC fees, all factors that impact the viability of the project.</p>
<p>MSEDCL, in its submission, maintained that BEL doesn’t meet the criteria of an ‘eligible consumer’ and cannot be entitled for net metering per the existing legal provision, and should be treated as an independent power producer. MERC has also observed that AFK Pune cannot claim exemption from the provisions of Net Metering Regulations, 2015 when a consumer of electricity also becomes a consumer of a particular distribution licensee, it comes under the commission’s regulation and any special treatment cannot be granted.</p>
<p>The commission also stated that a similar petition from Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation was recently rejected.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://mercomindia.com/maharashtra-electricity-regulatory-commission-proposes-net-metering-changes-rooftop-solar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">July 2017</a>, the MERC proposed changes to the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission, Net Metering for Roof-top Solar Photovoltaic Systems Regulations, 2015. The new regulations are called the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (Net Metering for Rooftop Solar PhotoVoltaic Systems) (First Amendment) Regulations, 2017.</p>
<p><a href="https://mercomindia.com/bel-inaugurates-16-mw-solar-pv-chennai/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Recently</a>, BEL successfully completed the construction of a 16 MW solar PV project at the Heavy Vehicle Factory (HVF) premises in Avadi locality of Tamil Nadu’s capital city Chennai. The project was inaugurated by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.</p>
<p>Image credit: Flickr</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/nitin/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Nitin Kabeer</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><p><img class="alignleft wp-image-9822" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/nitin-2.png" alt="" width="99" height="105" /><span style="font-family: Calibri"><span style="color: #000000"><span>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 &amp; Communication from Manipal Institute of Communication at Manipal University and Master’s degree in International Relations from Jindal School of International Affairs. <a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/nitin/">More articles from Nitin Kabeer</a></span></span></span></p>
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Rooftop Solar Net Metering Only Available for Projects Under 1 MW in Maharashtra

<p>Bharat Electronics Limited (<a href="http://bel-india.in" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BEL</a>), a defence public sector undertaking (PSU), has successfully completed the construction of a 16 MW solar PV project at the Heavy Vehicle Factory (HVF) premises in Avadi locality of Tamil Nadu’s capital city Chennai.</p>
<p>The project was inaugurated by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, according to a PTI report.</p>
<p>The solar PV project will cater to the captive consumption needs of the HVF and Engine Factory at Avadi. It is spread across 80 acres and has been built at an overall cost of ₹1.05 billion (~$0.016 billion).</p>
<p>Power generated from the project would be fed to the Tamil Nadu Transmission Corporation Ltd&#8217;s (TNTC) 110 kV sub-station. This will lead to annual savings of approximately ₹45.41 million (~$0.67 million).</p>
<p>“Great contribution by Bharat Electronics and Ordnance Factory at Avadi,&#8221; Nirmala Sitharaman tweeted after inaugurating the plant.</p>
<p>With the help of  &#8216;Viability Gap Funding Scheme&#8217;, BEL is working for the energy security of the ordnance factory estates, by developing utility scale grid-connected solar projects.</p>
<p>These projects would help improve the air quality of the region by reducing sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter emission, and 26,384 tons carbon dioxide per year.</p>
<p>Tamil Nadu is already one of the top solar states in India with over 1.7 GW of installed solar capacity, according to <a href="https://mercomindia.com/product/india-solar-tender-tracker/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Mercom’s India Solar Project Tracker</em></a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://mercomindia.com/bel-tenders-solar-projects-under-dcr/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Earlier, Mercom reported</a> that BEL tendered a total of 6 MW (AC) of solar to be developed at three factories in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, in July 2017.</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/nitin/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Nitin Kabeer</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><p><img class="alignleft wp-image-9822" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/nitin-2.png" alt="" width="99" height="105" /><span style="font-family: Calibri"><span style="color: #000000"><span>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 &amp; Communication from Manipal Institute of Communication at Manipal University and Master’s degree in International Relations from Jindal School of International Affairs. <a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/nitin/">More articles from Nitin Kabeer</a></span></span></span></p>
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BEL Inaugurates 16 MW Solar PV Project in Chennai’s Avadi

<p>Bharat Electronics Limited (<a href="http://bel-india.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BEL</a>), a Government of India enterprise, tendered a total of 6 MW (AC) of solar to be developed in three different states in India under the domestic content requirement (DCR) category. The bid-submission deadline is November 4, 2017.</p>
<p>Bharat Electronics has invited bids to develop 1, 2 and 3 MW (AC) solar PV projects at the Ordnance Factory Nalanda (OFN) in Rajgir, Bihar, the Ordnance Factory Muradnagar (OFM) in Uttar Pradesh, and the Ammunition Factory Kahdki (AFK), in Pune, Maharashtra.</p>
<p>This is an engineering procurement and construction (EPC) tender. Bharat Electronics will fund and own the project and land will be provided by the Rajgir OFN, Muradnagar OFN and Pune AFK. The projects are being developed for captive consumption.</p>
<p>The projects will be developed on turnkey basis and the scope of work for all three projects includes design, engineering, procurement, supply, packing, forwarding, transportation, unloading, storage at site, site development, construction, erection, installation of equipment, testing, and commissioning along with associated transmission system.</p>
<p>For the 1 MW project in Rajgir, the successful bidder will provide associated transmission system and termination at the 11 kV voltage level to a local substation of 132/11 kV at the Rajgir OFN.</p>
<p>For the 2 MW project in Muradabad, the successful bidder will provide the transmission system and termination at the 33 kV voltage level to the state transmission utility (STU) substation nearby OFM, Muradnagar.</p>
<p>For the 3 MW project in Pune, the successful bidder will provide the transmission system and termination at the 22 kV voltage level to the STU substation nearby the Ammunition Factory Kahdki, Pune.</p>
<p>The successful bidder(s) in each case must provide operation and maintenance (O&amp;M) services for a period of 10 years from the date of commissioning.</p>
<p>A single bidder can choose to either bid for any one of the projects or all three projects totaling 6 MW (AC) of solar, clarified a BEL official.</p>
<p>This is the second major DCR tender by BEL in 2017. In <a href="https://mercomindia.com/bharat-electronics-limited-tenders-36-mw-solar-projects-dcr-category/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">January</a>, the BEL tendered a total of 36 MW (AC) of solar under the DCR category.</p>
<p>Image credit: BEL India</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>
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<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>
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BEL Tenders 6 MW of Solar Projects Under the Domestic Content Category

<p>Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has tendered a total of 36 MW (AC) of solar under the domestic content requirement (DCR) category. The capacity comprises of two projects of 10 MW and one project of 16 MW. The 16 MW solar project will be developed at the Heavy Vehicle Factory located at Avadi in Tamil Nadu, and the 10 MW project will be developed at the Gun Carriage Factory, and the other 10 MW project will be developed at Vehicle Factory Jabalpur located in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh.</p>
<p>The last day for bid submission is February 21, 2017 and the projects will be owned and funded by BEL. The land will also be made available by BEL. The 16 MW project is expected to be commissioned within 210 days from the date of purchase order and the two 10 MW projects are expected to be complete within 180 days from the date of purchase order.</p>
<p>The scope of work, includes design, engineering, procurement, supply, packing, forwarding, transportation, unloading, storage at the site, site development, construction, erection, testing and commissioning along with associated transmission system and termination at 110 kV voltage level to state transmission utility (STU) substation of 110/33 kV at Thirumullaivoyal. The scope also includes operation and maintenance (O&amp;M) for 10 years for the 16 MW solar project.</p>
<p>The 10 MW solar project in Jabalpur, will require design, engineering, procurement, supply, packing, forwarding, transportation, unloading, storage at site, site development, construction, erection, testing and commissioning along with associated transmission system and termination at 33 kV voltage level to STU substation Satpula, and O&amp;M services for 10 years.</p>
<p>The 10 MW solar project in Jabalpur requires design, engineering, procurement, supply, packing, forwarding, transportation, unloading, storage at site, site development, construction, erection, testing and commissioning along with associated transmission system and termination at 33 kV voltage level to STU substation VFJ, and O&amp;M for 10 years.</p>
<p>A single bidder can bid for all three projects as long as they fulfill the technical and financial qualification criteria, stated an official at BEL.</p>
<p><em>Image Credit: Azure Power</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/sampath/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Sampath Krishna</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><p><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/sampath-edited-1.png" alt="Sampath Krishna" />Sampath has been part of the Mercom India research and news team since the company’s inception. He currently oversees all data and research relating to news published on the MercomIndia.com platform. Sampath received his Bachelor’s of Commerce Degree from Kuvempu University and Post Graduate Diploma in Management, from Indira Gandhi National Open University. <a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/sampath/">More articles from Sampath Krishna.</a></p>
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