Bidding guidelines for solar power purchase issued

The union government on Saturday issued fresh guidelines for a tariff based competitive bidding process for power purchase from grid connected "Solar PV" projects.

According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, the new guidelines were notified on August 3, 2017 and are expected to encourage further investment in the sector.

The ministry said that new guidelines will be used to purchase power from grid-connected "Solar PV" projects having a size of 5 mw and above, through competitive bidding.

"New guidelines for tariff based competitive bidding process for procurement of solar power will help enhance transparency and fairness in the procurement process, while protecting consumer interests through affordable power," the ministry said in a statement.

"These guidelines will also provide standardisation and uniformity in processes and a risk-sharing framework between various stakeholders involved in the solar PV power procurement. This will help in reducing off-taker risk and thereby encourage investments, enhance bankability of the projects and improve profitability for the investors."

--IANS

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