MP takes up solar rooftop tendering with 45% subsidy support

Over 60 prospective bidders attend pre-bid meeting for the tender that is expected to be finalised in July

The Madhya Pradesh government's plan to implement 28 Mw of Rooftop Solar projects through the Renewable Energy Service Company (RESCO) model is in line with the Government of India’s target to achieve 40 Gw of solar rooftop installation by 2022. Over 60 prospective bidders from across the country attended a pre-bid meeting for the tender that is expected to be finalised in July. 

Bidders discussed issues relating to the RFP document, Power Purchase Agreement clauses, compensation, subsidies and termination clauses, with senior officials from the Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikas Nigam. 

Manu Srivastava, Principal Secretary, New and Renewable Energy Department, Madhya Pradesh, said the state had attempted many innovations in the RESCO tender. "We hope that the attempt made through the RESCO tender can help us achieve our solar rooftop target, by reducing the electricity bills of consumers in Madhya Pradesh.”

MPUVN has already identified more than 250 project sites for the tender. Since it would be challenging for the bidders to visit these buildings spread all over the state and so as to address the problem of ‘information asymmetry’, MP is creating a ‘data room’ in partnership with World Bank. 

The beneficiary consumers have pre-cleared the terms of the PPA. Projects are grouped based on the profile of ultimate paying entity, namely, Central Government departments/ state government and the nature of end-use. "This will facilitate the developer with large size and uniform credit profile of the procurers," said Srivastava.

The tender includes features like part commissioning, deemed generation, payment security mechanism, payment for early termination, and seasonally indexed performance monitoring. The project will have a subsidy from the Union and state -- 25 per cent from the Union Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) and 20 per cent from the Madhya Pradesh government. 

Bids for the tender are to be submitted by July 9, while the technical bids will be opened on July 12 followed by financial bid opening on July 19.