SECI Launches 14 MW PV/42 MWh Storage Tender

The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has issued a request for selection (RFS) for interested bidders for 14 MW solar power capacity to be set up in Leh and Kargil with 42 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) capacity under the Prime Minister Development Package (PMDP)-2015.

This capacity will be developed on both the locations as 7 MW of solar and 21 MWh of storage capacity each. Leh and Kargil are districts in the newly formed union territory (UT) of Ladakh after Prime Minister Narendra Modi led federal government bifurcated Ladakh from the state of Jammu and Kashmir in October 2019. Now, Jammu and Kashmir too is a UT.

Both the projects will need to be developed on a build-own-operate (BOO) basis with tariffs capped at INR 2.00 ($0.028) per kWh.

Land for the projects will be provided by the Ladakh Renewable Energy Development Agency (LREDA) and Kargil Renewable Energy Development Agency (KREDA). Successful developers will be responsible for construction of the transmission line network up to the interconnection point.

Winners will be eligible to avail viability gap funding (VGF) and enter into a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the buying entity. The maximum VGF capacity the bidders can bid for is INR 130 million ($1.83 million) for 1 MW solar power and 3 MWh of storage capacity.

In Leh, project sites are identified as Leh town, Lagjung Nubra, Nyoma headquarter and Khaltsi, while in Kargil projects will be developed in Lakthang Drass, Yourbaltak, Pashkum, Sankoo, Khangral and Karsha Zanskar.    

The pre-bid meeting is scheduled for February 17, 2020 while the last date to submit bids is March 16, 2020. Details of the tender are available with SECI.   

In July 2017, SECI sought bids for this 14 MW/42 MWh solar and storage capacity through a newspaper advertisement (see SECI Issues PV Plus Energy Storage Tender).

SECI's RFS round for the 14 MW/42 MWh tender comes a year after the President of India approved the plans to tender this capacity (see India Approves 14 MW PV+42 MWh Storage Project).