Indian state-run Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has issued a nationwide tender to set up 1.2 GW of grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity. For this process, it will implement less stringent terms and will allow a period of 12 months for financial closure, compared to just 7 months in the previous large-scale tender. Besides, developers will have 18 months to fully commission the project, compared to 15 months in the last tender. However, the maximum allowable time to commission the project remains unchanged at 24 months.
Project developers will be allowed to bid for a minimum capacity of 50 MW, and up to a maximum of 300 MW. The maximum tariff payable to each developer has been set at RUP2.65/kWh (US$3.7c/kWh) for a period of 25 years, compared to INR2.93/kWh (US$4.11c/kWh) in the previous July 2018 tender.
This announcement comes after two months of turmoil in the domestic solar industry, with solar tariffs hitting record lows in 2018. The success of this tender will be crucial for SECI as it would help gauge developers' overall interest in the Indian solar power sector. In the past, SECI had to either downsize or cancel several large solar power tenders due to multiple issues.
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