Finally, some Solar action from Bihar as BREDA tenders out 250 MW

Catch Up Time in Bihar

Bihar, a long term laggard in solar with barely a 100MW of operational solar installations in the state, is finally moving to change the status quo, it seems. The state’s nodal agency, Bihar Renewable Energy Development Agency (BREDA) has invited bids for setting up 250 MW of grid-connected ground-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in the state.

The tender document specifies a minimum bid size of 25 MW, with a precondition that the bidder must be an Indian company, manufacturer, a PV system integrator, or member of a bidding consortium or a special purpose vehicle, formed to develop the project. Prior experience with solar projects of at least 10 MW is also a requirement.

The earnest money deposit (EMD) for the tender is ₹400,000, with the bidders required to have a minimum annual turnover of ₹750 million of the quoted capacity during the previous financial year.

The last date for submission of bids is July 10, 2019, with the technical bid opening date set for July 11, 2019.

Earlier in January this year, BREDA had issued a request for proposal (RfP) for the installation of 15 MW of grid-connected rooftop solar PV systems. The project was to be developed under the RESCO model with net metering facility at various locations across the state.

The Bihar Electricity Regulatory Commission recently notified the generic levelized tariff for power generated from solar PV for FY 2019-20 at ₹4.17 /kWh without accelerated depreciation (AD).

It may be noted that the state discom is also well behind on its renewable purchase obligations, and has already been fined for the same.

Predictably, the state site is not really performing, so we are struggling to provide you more details, such as any ceiling price etc. But watch this space for any updates!