Maharashtra discom opens tender for 500 MW wind-solar hybrid projects

The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MSEDCL) has opened a tender inviting bids for procuring 500 MW wind-solar hybrid power on a long-term basis from grid-connected interstate and intrastate projects. MSEDCL will enter into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the selected bidders for purchasing wind-solar hybrid power for 25 years from the commercial operational date of the projects. The minimum size of a single hybrid power project for the intrastate projects should be 25 MW, with at least 10 MW project at one site. It should be 50 MW for interstate projects at one site to be interconnected to a single delivery point. The voltage level for intrastate projects is required to be 33 kV or above of state transmission utility (STU)/Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company (MSETCL) substation. Maharashtra STU/MSETCL limits will be the energy settlement and delivery point for interstate projects. The projects to be selected should provide for the deployment of wind-solar hybrid power technology. The bidding document also specifies that only commercially established and operational technologies should be used to minimise the technology risk and achieve timely commissioning of the projects. The intrastate or interstate projects already commissioned, but lacking any long-term PPA with any agency will be considered if these projects are not already accepted under any other central or state programmes, and do not have any obligations towards existing buyers. Eligibility: The bidder’s net worth should not be less than Rs 1 crore per MW for the last financial year (FY) to qualify in the bidding process. The minimum annual turnover of the bidder should be Rs 75 lakh per MW of the quoted capacity during the last FY as of the date at least seven days before the bid submission date. In the form of profit before depreciation, interest, and taxes, the internal resource generation capacity should be at least Rs 15 lakh per MW of the quoted capacity on the last date of the previous FY. The bidder should have a letter from the lending institution committing a ‘line of credit’ for a minimum amount of Rs 18.70 lakh per MW of the quoted capacity. This is needed to meet the working capital requirement of the project. The last date to submit the bids is June 8, 2021. The responsibility of getting the grid connectivity with the central transmission utility or the state transmission utility will be entirely with the successful bidder. According to the tender, the developer should maintain generation to achieve an annual capacity utilisation factor (CUF) not less than 90% of the declared value and not more than 120% of the declared CUF value during the PPA duration of 25 years. Earlier, MSEDCL had issued a tender for the procurement of hybrid renewable power to meet its renewable purchase obligation. It had set a ceiling tariff of Rs 2.80 per kWh for the projects. Another wind-solar hybrid tender from MSEDCL had a tariff cap of Rs 2.75 per kWh. MSEDCL has also invited bids to procure power from 500 MW of interstate or intrastate grid-connected solar projects on a long-term basis. Click here to get the tender details. Image SourceAlso read: Maharashtra to spend Rs 25 bn on Mahavitaran power infra