SECI issues 50 MW tender for Kerala

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The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has issued a 50 MW tender for a PV plant at Kasargod Solar Park in Kerala.

To be developed on a turnkey basis, the scope of work includes design, engineering, procurement, supply, construction, erection, testing and commissioning of solar projects. Developers will also be responsible for operation and maintenance for 10 years.

Announcing the tender on behalf of THDC India Limited – formerly the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Ltd – SECI has stipulated bidders must have an annual average turnover of at least Rs800 million in any of the last three financial years and should have installed and commissioned grid-connected solar projects with a cumulative capacity of not less than 25 MW in the last seven financial years.

The deadline for bid submission is February 25.

Kerala has an installed capacity of 120 MW and is aiming for 1,870 MW by 2022.

Rooftop potential

Speaking exclusively to pv magazine at the Intersolar India trade show in December, MM Mani, the Kerala government’s minister for power, detailed the state’s solar vision. “Right now, we only have an installed capacity of 100-plus MW but by the end of 2019, we plan to install 1,000 MW, of which 500 MW will be rooftop and 200 MW floating solar,” he said. “Rooftop is the best option for Kerala because there is not much free land and land acquisition is a tedious process.”

More recently, while inaugurating solar energy projects implemented by the Kuravilangad panchayath, Mani said the state had shifted focus to renewables in an attempt to build energy independence.

State agencies including the Agency for Non-conventional Energy and Rural Technology (ANERT), the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) and local bodies are pushing Kerala’s solar plans. The KSEB anticipates developing 15 solar projects with an overall capacity of 9.2 MW in this financial year. ANERT has two PV projects – Solar Connect and the Solar Off-Grid program. Through its Solar Connect plan, it has so far accomplished an installed capacity of 8 MW.

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