From pv magazine India.
The latest announcement marks the fourth extension of the bid submission deadline for what the government claims is the largest tender of its kind in the world. Bids were initially due today.
Discussing the bidding response so far, Manas Ranjan Mishra, Manager for Contract and Procurement at the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), told pv magazine: “There are 10 to 12 prospective bidders, including some international bidders, from China and Taiwan.
“There are some amendments to be made in the tender. We are awaiting the mandate from the ministry with respect to the amendments to be done.”
The tender features a requirement for bidders to establish 3 GW of annual solar manufacturing capacity in an attempt by the government to bolster domestic manufacturing capacity.
Manufacturing requirement already reduced
“In the last four years, India has emerged as the most favored destination for renewable energy, attracting investments amounting to US$42 billion. We wish India to have a strong manufacturing system, which represents a golden opportunity for investment. In the next four years, the country would receive another US$ 70 to 80 billion of investments in this sector,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing a gathering at the inauguration of the first assembly of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), the second IORA Renewable Energy Ministerial Meet, and the second Global RE-Invest 2018, in New Delhi.
Last time out just one bidder — Azure Power — reportedly turned up, on September 27, compelling the authorities to extend the deadline until today. Bidders had reportedly requested an extension for securing tie-ups for domestic manufacturing and completing ongoing negotiations for sourcing modules at better prices.
In May, SECI tendered 5 GW of manufacturing capacity linked to inter-state transmission system-connected solar projects, for an aggregate capacity of 10 GW. Later, the agency reduced the manufacturing capacity requirement from 5 GW to 3 GW, and the minimum bid capacity from 1 GW to 600 MW whilst continuing to offer 10 GW worth of PPA agreements.
The government introduced the manufacturing-linked solar scheme this year, with qualifying developers being assured PPAs. However, many developers are reluctant to participate in manufacturing-linked tenders, as producing components is not their core competency.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment.
Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so.
You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled.
Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy.