The President of India has given his approval for the implementation of the 'Scheme for Setting up of 2.5 GW Interstate Transmission System (ISTS) Connected Wind-Solar Hybrid Power Projects.' This hybrid power will be procured for a tariff discovered through a transparent process of bidding, followed by e-reverse auction.
Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) will be the nodal agency for the implementation of the scheme. All projects will be developed on a build, own-operate (BOO) basis.
Minimum capacity to bid for under the scheme will be 200 MW and maximum 500 MW, with project capacity of at least 50 MW at one project site. The developers will be free to install any amount of winning capacity into wind and solar power projects.
Hybrid project developers (HPD) will be allowed to install any energy storage facility. They will be free to choose locations to set up these projects. They will not be allowed to inject more power than the declared project capacity at the point of injection. Responsibility to secure ISTS connectivity and long term access (LTA) will remain with the HPDs.
All awarded capacity will need to come online within 18 months from the date of issuance of letter of award (LOA).
SECI will sign 25 year PPAs with the winners and will also execute power sale agreements (PSAs) with distribution companies and bulk consumers who may use it to fulfill their solar and non-solar RPO requirements. State nodal agencies will facilitate required approvals and sanctions in a time bound manner. Details about the scheme are available on the website of MNRE.
SECI is required to issued request for selection (RfS) documents within 15 days after publication. This scheme is the first step in ensuring the implementation of the National Wind-Solar Hybrid Policy that the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) announced recently.