SECI Extends Deadline For 3 GW Manufacturing Linked Tender

The deadline for submission has been extended from May 14, 2019, to May 31, 2019.

The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has extended the deadline for bid submission on its tender for setting up 3 GW ISTS-Connected solar PV power plant linked with setting up of 1.5 GW (per annum) solar manufacturing plant.

The deadline for submission has been extended from May 14, 2019, to May 31, 2019, and now the techno-commercial bids will be opened on May 31, 2019, as well.

Last month, the deadline for submission had been extended twice. The first. time, the nodal agency for renewable energy had extended the deadline from April 4, 2019, to April 22, 2019, with the techno-commercial bids scheduled to be opened on April 23, 2019. And then. A week later, the deadline was again extended from April 22, 2019, to May 14, 2019, with the techno-commercial bids set to be opened on May 14, 2019.

In March, SECI had extended the deadline from March 18, 2019, to April 4, 2019, with the techno-commercial bids scheduled to be opened on April 5, 2019.

Earlier in May 2018, SECI had tender similar manufacturing linked tender for 10 GW solar capacity with 5 GW manufacturing capacity per annum. SECI’s first large scale manufacturing-linked solar tender issued last year initially for 10 GW capacity, after six extensions and dropping the capacity to 5 GW attracted all but just one bid from Azure Power for 2 GW power capacity linked with 600 MW solar equipment manufacturing. However, unlike Azure, most of the other large industry players stayed away from the tender.

Due to poor response from the industry, the tender capacity was later reduced to 3 GW where the developers were to be provided guaranteed PPAs of 2,000 MW for a manufacturing capacity of 600 MW, therefore the total power projects awarded would have remained at 10 GW.

However, earlier this year, the government announced its plan to cancel the previous tender and float the manufacturing-linked solar tender for a second time, after scrapping the results from the first issue.