IREDA Releases List of Tentative Bidders for 5 GW CPSU Scheme

The Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA), the agency appointed by Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) for the implementation of the CPSU Scheme Phase II, has released a tentative list of bidders for building 5000 MW capacity of renewable energy.

Under the Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) scheme phase-II, 12,000 MW grid-connected solar projects with viability gap funding (VGF) are to be set up. A VGF is provided to cover the cost difference between domestic and imported solar cells and modules. VGF will be released in two tranches.

The tentative list released by IREDA on August 31, 2021, comprises the following bidders along with the respective capacities they applied for: energy conglomerate NTPC Limited: 2500 MW; Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd. (SECI): 1200 MW; state-owned hydropower board NHPC: 1000 MW; Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd. (SJVN): 1000 MW; fossil fuel electric power generation company NLC India Limited, 510 MW; Indian Railway Construction Limited (IRCON): 500 MW; and state-owned Indian Oil Corporation: 250 MW. As a result, the total tentative capacity comes up to 6,960 MW.

As per the scheme, the power generated by the government producers can be used on payment of mutually agreed usage charges of not more than Rs. 2.45/unit for self-use or use by government/ government entities, either directly or through DISCOMS. The maximum permissible VGF is Rs. 55 lakh per megawatt. The actual VGF to the government producer will be decided through bidding process using the VGF amount as a bid parameter to select the project developer. The MNRE has kept the option of reducing the VGF, or even the upper limit for power costs, depending on market inputs that it receives.

NTPC has a very high chance of winning a tender for the full 2500 MW capacity it has applied for, considering its past record. It has won 1,885 MW of TBCB (tariff-based competitive bidding) contracts since FY21 and is setting up the country’s largest solar park, with a capacity of 4.75 GW, in Rann of Kutch, Gujarat.

The company plans to have 132 GW of total power generation capacity by 2032. Its current total installed capacity stands at 66 GW. Out of this, thermal (coal+gas) accounts for 61 GW, hydro for 3.7 GW, solar for 1 GW and the remainder is supplied by wind.