RVUNL Tenders 810 MW Solar Power Project Development In Bikaner’s Solar Park

To establish 810 MW of state transmission utility (STU) linked solar power projects on a build-own-operate basis in RVUNL’s Ultra Mega Solar Park in Bikaner, Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam (RVUNL) has published a tender to choose solar project developers.

The 2 GW Ultra Mega Solar Park being built near the villages of Ramsar Chhota, Bandrewala, and Barala will house the grid-connected solar plants.

The deadline for proposal submissions is February 22, 2023, which will be opened on the following day.

To supply the state DISCOMs with the generated electricity, RVUNL will enter into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the winning bidder for a period of 25 years beginning with the project’s anticipated commissioning.

Tender processing fees of Rs. 1 million + GST and an earnest money deposit of Rs. 720 million must be submitted by bidders.

Before signing the PPA and within 30 days of receiving the letter of intent, the chosen project developer must provide a contract performance security in the amount of Rs. 1.44 billion.

For the term of the PPA, the chosen developer will also be in charge of the project’s operation and management.

After the PPA is signed, the chosen developer has 15 months to complete the solar project.

The declared annual capacity utilization factor (CUF) shall never be less than 19%, and the winning bidder must continue to generate power to maintain annual CUF within + 10% to -15% of the declared value for the whole 10 years following commissioning. 

The project developer would be allowed to sell any excess generation beyond the 10% CUF agreed upon to RVUNL or to any other party, as long as RVUNL has first dibs on the sale. Such extra energy may be acquired by RVUNL for 75% of the rate owed to the project developer if approved by the DISCOMs or beneficiaries.

Also, the project developer will be responsible for bearing wheeling fees, losses, and the cost of transmission from the project up to the connecting point. A special cable with a 33 kV voltage level should be used to link the solar project to the pooling substation at the solar park.

The minimum average yearly turnover requirement for bidders is Rs. 4.05 billion and their net worth should be Rs. 7.2 billion or more, in the last fiscal year.

Further, they need a letter of in-principle approval from lenders pledging a line of credit worth at least Rs. 1.01 billion toward fulfilling the working capital requirement. 

Additionally, bidders must be able to generate internal resources with a minimum of Rs. 810 million in Profit Before Depreciation, Interest, and Taxes at the conclusion of the fiscal year 2021–2022.