SECI extends deadline for solar auction yet another time

In a statement released on its website, SECI said that the last date for submission of bids, both offline and online, had been extended till May 21

New Delhi: State-owned Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has once again extended the deadline for submission of bids for another renewable energy project because some queries of bidders had not been addressed yet. In a statement released on its website, SECI said that the last date for submission of bids, both offline and online, had been extended till May 21, 2019, 1700 hours. It added that the techno-commercial bid opening shall be carried out from 1100 hours on May 22.

Earlier, the last date for submission of bids for setting up 97.5 MWP (megawatt peak) grid-connected rooftop solar PV system was April 30. According to an industry source, "As some of the queries of the bidders remained, SECI has chosen to extend the bid submission deadline to May 21."

A pre-meeting for this auction took place on March 7 and the tender had been floated on February 26, the source said.

Two deadlines extended last week

The SECI had earlier extended two deadlines for two of its renewable energy projects last week. On April 22, the PSU had extended the deadline for the third time for a manufacturing-linked 3GW solar power tender till May 14. On April 23, it again extended the deadline for submission of bids for 1,200 megawatt (MW) solar-wind hybrid power projects till May 7.

Why is the SME industry not taking interest?

According to a survey released earlier this month, several power-consuming small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in India were hesitant to install rooftop solar panels due to perceived performance risks.

The study, titled 'Scaling Up Rooftop Solar in SME Sector in India' conducted by Deloitte across 150 MSMEs in six industrial clusters, said, "The level of awareness about rooftop solar was quite low among the sample surveyed, many high-power consuming SMEs were hesitant to install rooftop solar because of the perceived performance risks."