Haryana seeks bids to procure 500 MW of solar power

21 Apr 2023 CW Team

In order to deliver 500 MW of solar electricity from grid-connected solar projects in Haryana, the Haryana electricity Purchase Center (HPPC), a joint forum of the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) and Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN), has issued an invitation for bids.

The deadline for submitting online bids is May 24, 2023. The following day, the bids will be opened. As a bid processing cost, bidders must deposit Rs 10 million ($121.87)/MW plus 18% GST. They must additionally provide an earnest money deposit of Rs 80 billions ($9,749/MW).

After issuing the Letter of Intent and prior to signing the power purchase agreement (PPA), the successful bidder will be required to provide a bank guarantee in the amount of $2 million (or $24,373/MW).

For the tender, HPPC has set a ceiling rate of 3.38 ($0.041)/kWh.

With the winning bids, HPPC will sign PPAs that will last 25 years from the solar projects' start of commercial operation.

After the PPA is signed, the solar developer has 18 months to complete the project.

According to the terms of the PPA that will be signed between the solar power developer and HPPC, the developer will be in charge of the design, financing, acquisition of land, engineering, acquisition, construction, operation, and maintenance of the projects. The 500 MW total capacity of the projects that will be chosen under this contract may be put anywhere in Haryana with a maximum of 10 MW coming from a single developer. To reduce technology risk and complete project commissioning on schedule, only commercially viable and operational technologies can be chosen.

The net worth of bidders should not be less than Rs 10 million ($121,866)/MW of the quoted capacity for the most recent fiscal year. Either bidders must have internal resource generation capability in the form of profit before depreciation, interest, and taxes for at least Rs 1 million (or $12,187)/MW of the quoted capacity during the previous financial year, or bidders must have a minimum annual turnover of at least Rs 5 million (or $60,933)/MW of the quoted capacity.

Alternatively, bidders must obtain a letter of in-principle approval from a lender committing a Line of Credit for at least $1.25 million (about $15,233) per MW of the specified capacity toward the project's need for working capital.

The winning bidder will be solely responsible for obtaining grid connectivity and ongoing access from the distribution firms. There should be a minimum declared yearly capacity utilization factor of 21%.

The solar modules that will be utilized for the projects must have a warranty for their peak output wattage, which cannot be less than 90% after ten years and 80% after 25 years from the planned start of commercial operation.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy's Approved List of Models and Manufacturers should be used to source the solar modules for the project.

To develop and commission 121 MW of grid-connected solar power projects at Faridabad (78 MW), Panipat (25 MW), and Yamuna Nagar (18 MW), the Haryana Power Generation Corporation issued a bid invitation in June of last year.