SECI Seeks 800 Acres Of Land For 200 MW Solar Project In MP

Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) recently released a tender for the selection of an agency for the outright purchase or lease of 800 acres of land for the development of a 200 MW solar project in Madhya Pradesh with September 23 as the last date for bids submission. 

The SECI tender states that for the outright purchase or lease of land for 30 years, the bidder is expected to meet certain qualifications such as, “The bidder is expected to arrange for a minimum of 800 acres of land in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The entire quantum of land may preferably be contiguous. The bidder is also expected to offer multiple land parcels provided all the land parcels fall within a radius of five km. The minimum area of an individual land parcel is expected to be no less than 200 acres.”

SECI, in its tender, mentioned, “The bidder is expected to submit their bid either through the outright purchase route or through the lease route. A combination of outright purchase and lease is not allowed. The payment of land cost/lease rent shall be made by Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited directly into the account of the landowners.”

The tender added, “Land with a clear title, free from all encumbrances and charges, and not subject to acquisition for any other purpose, shall be transferred or leased to Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited. Tribal land shall not be accepted until the bidder furnishes approval from designated government agencies regarding the transferability of the land for the said purpose.”

The tender mentioned the minimum Global Horizontal Irradiation (GHI) of the proposed land parcel(s) shall not be less than 1900 kWh/m² as per Solargis (https://apps.solargis.com/prospect). The bidder shall mention the GHI of the land parcel(s) as per Solargis in Form F-XIV.

Services for Allied Works

The tender also stated the necessary approvals for the purchase or lease of land for setting up the Solar PV Project in the state of Madhya Pradesh. For instance, the tender elaborated that the bidder is expected to provide, “Collection & compilation of Land Records using Maps/Sheets, Topographical sheets, etc., from District Administration/Land & Revenue Department/Survey of India/Gram Panchayat, etc., for preparation of Land schedule, Land Use Plan, Digitized Revenue Sheets, Combined Mauza Map, etc.”

It also expects the bidder to submit land documents like maps, searches, photographs, road networks, approaches, and entrances, i.e., the present status or case study report of land parcels/pockets of the proposed solar power plant. The bidder shall bear all statutory charges other than stamp duty, registration charges, etc.

The tender also elaborated that the contractor must submit certain documents to SECI. For instance, the tender mentioned that the bidder needs to submit a title search report for not less than 30 years, validated by a registered lawyer or law firm appointed by the contractor, certifying that the offered land title is undisputable, marketable, and suitable for registered lease or ownership. It involves issuing all the required public notices on behalf of Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited, with proper legal clearances regarding the transfer or lease of land parcels.

SECI also mentioned that for identifying the STU substation for the interconnection of the transmission line and obtaining connectivity, the bidder is expected to identify a 220 kV State Transmission Utility (STU), i.e., Madhya Pradesh Power Transmission Company Limited (MPPTCL), substation nearest to the proposed land parcel(s), which has available evacuation capacity of a minimum of 200 MW for the evacuation of 200 MW Solar PV power at the 220 kV level.