The Solar Energy Corporation of India, a company established by the country’s government , has issued a tender for developing a 500MW offshore wind power project off the coast of Gujarat.
According to the tender, the project will enhance India’s renewable energy capacity and be connected to the Inter-State Transmission System. The deadline for bid submissions is Tuesday, December 12 while pre-bid meetings are supposed to be held on October 22.
One of the conditions for the project is a completion window of 48 months, while an earnest money deposit of ₹3,700,000 ($44,130) per MW is required.
The tender invites developers to submit on a build-own-operate basis. Successful bidders will enter into a PPA with the company for a 25-year term and sell the generated power to Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited.
The project will be developed in an area of 202 sq km in the Gulf of Khambhat. It aligns with guidelines issued under the viability gap funding scheme which will provide financial support to offset the initial costs of offshore wind projects.
This request for selection is seen as a proper step forward in India’s offshore wind energy expansion and its attempts to harness its offshore wind potential along its vast coast which will, in turn, support the country’s clean energy goals.
In June, India approved the viability gap funding scheme for offshore wind energy projects totalling $892.3m. This included $820.5m for the installation and commissioning of 1GW of offshore wind energy projects – 500MW each off the coast of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu – and a grant of $71.8m for upgrading two ports to meet logistics requirements for offshore wind energy projects.