Indian railways plan to rejig 3 GW solar tender after tepid response
Indian Railways’ energy management arm is planning to rework its mega-tender for setting up 3 GW (gigawatts) solar power project on vacant railway land following tepid response from developers.
Sources said a meeting with developers and investors is being planned on December 23 to get their perspective and develop a market-conducive bid document. The market feedback will be used to modify the bidding document in sync with market practices and power ministry’s bid guidelines.
Railway Energy Management Company Ltd, a joint venture of Indian Railways and RITES, floated the tenders in three packages of 1,600 MW (megawatt) and 1,007 MW on BOO (build-own-operate) basis and a tranche of 400 MW on EPC (engineering, procurement construction) mode. Among major developers, the Tata group is reported to have bid for about 300 MW in the first package in addition to several others but the financial bid is yet to be opened. The other two tenders have seen multiple extensions and the bid submission remains pending.
“The market is used to tenders floated by SECI (state-run agency implementing the National Solar Mission) where the projects come in large sizes.
