To build 1 GW of solar power projects on a build-own-operate (BOO) basis in Rajasthan that will be connected to state transmission utilities (STUs), Rajasthan Urja Vikas Nigam (RUVNL) has issued an invitation for bids.
The deadline for proposal submissions is February 13, 2023, and the day of the bid opening is February 16.
A single bid must include at least 50 MW of capacity at the specified location and can only be stated in multiples of 10 MW. Each developer could only put up one project to deliver the contractual capacity under the power purchase agreement (PPA).
After the PPA is signed, the projects must receive funding within a year and be operational within 18 months.
Bidders are required to pay an earnest money deposit equal to Rs. 800,000/MW of the capacity specified in the bid and a bid processing fee of Rs. 500,000 for projects with a capacity of 50 MW to 99 MW and Rs. 1.5 million for projects with a capacity of 100 MW or higher.
Further, before commissioning the project, developers must provide a payment security deposit of Rs. 500,000/MW.
Additionally, 7 days prior to signing the PPA, the chosen bidders are required to provide a performance bank guarantee in the amount of Rs. 2 million/MW.
Developers must find suitable land, obtain the required permits, and link to the closest STU network. The solar project should be set up to link to the solar park’s pooling substation through a special cable at a voltage of 33 kV.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s Approved List of Models and Manufacturers must be utilized to obtain the modules for the project.
The project’s developers will be responsible for paying wheeling fees, losses, and the cost of transmission from the project up to the interconnection point.
The declared annual capacity utilization factor (CUF) should under no circumstances be less than 19%, and the winning bidder must maintain annual CUF within + 10% and -15% of the declared value for 10 years following commissioning.
Bidders’ net worth must be at least Rs. 8 million/MW and the preceding fiscal year’s annual turnover should be at least Rs. 4.14 million/MW.
In order to satisfy the working capital requirement of the projects, bidders must additionally obtain an in-principle sanction letter from the lending institution pledging a line of credit for at least Rs. 1.04 million/MW.
They must also have internal resource generation capacity as profit before depreciation, interest, and taxes (PBDIT) of at least Rs. 830,000/MW.
