SECI to tender 1,000MW of solar projects for Northeastern India

The ceiling tariff will be set at $0.042/kWh.

The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) said it would soon launch a tender for 1,000MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity that will be developed in the states of Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Tripura, Nagaland, and Assam. According to Mercom India, the ceiling tariff will be set at $0.042/kWh.

The projects will be developed under Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) Phase-II Batch-IV. The request for selection will be made available online on or after 20 March 2019.

Executing these projects would be a tough ask in heavily forested areas, a SECI official told Mercom India. When asked if the implementing agency has broken down capacity to be set up in each of these states, the official said, “No, we haven’t done that. Considering the topography and the forested areas, we have left it upon the developers or bidders to decide where they want to set up what capacity.”

This tender will be governed by the viability gap funding (VGF) program guidelines. The minimum project capacity at a single location will be 5MW.