The government may extend bid date for the allocation of projects through the second round of bidding under the first phase of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) to give more time to interested bidders to finalise their offers.
The bid submission date for the second round is September 23. But the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) is mulling extending the deadline by a week or so.
?We are considering extending the bid submission date by seven to ten days because many bidders requested for more time during pre-bid conference,? an MNRE official told FE. The ministry issued notification on Aug 25 for this round of bidding.
In a bid to provide protection to the domestic solar power equipment industry against cheaper imports, the government has made it mandatory for developers to use locally sourced cells for the implementation of solar projects to be auctioned under this round. Cells account for about 70% of the cost of solar PV project. However, developers using thin film technology can import their equipment since domestic manufacturing facility is still not in place.
Under the revised guidelines, the maximum capacity of PV power projects has also been increased from 5 mw to 20 mw. Time-limit for achieving financial closure has been increased from 6 months to 7 months while commissioning time from 12 months to 13 months.
Besides, flexibility has also been granted for part-commissioning of the auctioned capacity in multiples of 5 mw though the developer will have to comply with the final time-limit.
For example, developer of a 20 mw project can commission its capacity in four instalments of 5 mw. The government has targeted to complete signing of power purchase agreements by January. India has envisaged adding 20,000 mw solar generation capacity by 2022 under the programme. Of this, 7,00 mw capacity was auctioned for implementation under the first round of bidding.