SECI Extends Bid Deadline for 14 MW Solar Plus BESS Again

SECI has again extended the bid submission deadline for its tender for the development of 14 MW of solar projects along with 42 MWh of BESS

The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has extended the bid submission deadline for its tender for the development of 14 MW of solar power projects along with 42 MWh of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) at Leh and Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir under the Prime Minister Development Package (PMDP)-2015, for a second time in less than a month.

As per the SECI notification, the last date for bid submission has been extended from April 16, 2020, to June 1, 2020. And, the techno-commercial bids will now be opened on the new bid deadline.

In its notification, SECI stated that “it’s evident that the global outbreak of Pandemic Novel Coronavirus, COVID 19 has significantly hampered the functioning of all sectors including institutions, commercial establishments, offices & various manufacturing units are also at standstill. India is phasing through this crucial time having a complete Lockdown of all the States & UTs till April 14, 2020. In such a situation, the site visit for the subject RfS has already been postponed for an indefinite period. In such a situation, all prospective bidders are requested to kindly submit their respective Pre-Bid queries, so as to save on overall tendering time.”

Earlier in March, SECI had extended the deadline from March 16, 2020, to April 16, 2020.

In May 2019, we had reported that SECI had issued a new Notice Inviting Tender (NIT) seeking online bids for the development of 14 MW of solar PV power plant with linked 42 MWh of Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) at two locations in Jammu and Kashmir. The two systems (each 7 MW solar plant with 21 MWh BESS facility) will be developed at the Leh and Kargil divisions of the state. In March 2019, the nodal agency had issued a similar NIT for the projects. At the time the RfS document was expected to be released on March 15, 2019. However, there was no further development on the tender or project.

In January 2019, we had reported that the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) under the order of the President of India has launched a new scheme for setting up Solar PV Projects with aggregate battery storage capacity in Leh & Kargil.