Under Component-A of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthan Mahabhiyan (PM KUSUM) initiative, the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) has invited bids for 431 MW of solar electricity from decentralised solar projects with capacities ranging from 500 kW to 2 MW. The deadline for bid submissions is June 3, 2022. The tender has a ceiling tariff of 23.10/kWh established by MSEDCL. The government plans to build 10,000 MW of grid-connected solar power plants with individual project sizes of up to 2 MW under Component A of the PM-KUSUM programme. As an earnest money deposit, bidders must contribute $100,000 per MW. Within 30 days of receiving the letter of award, the winning bidder must provide a performance bank guarantee in the amount of 500,000 per MW. The chosen bidders will engage in power purchase agreements (PPAs) with MSEDCL for 25 years from the start of commercial operation. To prevent the high cost of sub-transmission lines and reduce transmission losses, solar power projects will be placed within a five-kilometre radius of substations. To reduce technological risk and ensure project commissioning on schedule, only commercially established and operational technologies can be chosen. Construction projects that have not yet been commissioned, and projects that have been commissioned but have no long-term PPA with any agency and are selling electricity on a short-term or merchant plant basis would be eligible. Bidders can participate as an individual or as a group of farmers, cooperatives, panchayats, farmer producer associations, or water user organisations, and the project can be built upon their land. If bidders can't come up with the money, they can put up the projects by signing a land leasing arrangement with a developer. The annual lease rate to be paid to the landowner will be $730,000 per acre, with a 3% annual increase. The leasing deal would last between 26 and 30 years, as both sides have agreed. Individual farmers, farmer groups, cooperatives, panchayats, farmer producer organisations, water user associations, and farmers establishing the project on their lands are excluded from the financial qualifying criteria. If the project is to be built on leased property, the bidder's net worth must be at least $10 million. The bidder's yearly turnover should be at least $2.5 million. As of the end day of the preceding financial year (FY), the developer must have an internal resource generating capability in the form of profit before depreciation, interest, and taxes for a minimum of 1 million of the quoted capacity. To satisfy the working capital need, the developer should obtain an in-principle commitment from a financing institution pledging a Line of Credit for a minimum of 21.25 million of the stated capacity. The project should be built to supply energy at the MSEDCL substation's 11/22 kV level. The selected bidder would be responsible for establishing grid connectivity with MSEDCL. According to MSEDCL, the claimed capacity usage factor should not be less than 15% throughout the year. Image Source Also read: SJVN invites bid from consultants to draft DPR for solar projects