MNRE proposes a draft schedule for solar tender activities to avoid clashes between agencies

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has approached all the central & state governments as well as public sectors implementing agencies for tendering of solar PV capacities to follow a timeline for implementing renewable energy projects. According to the letter “It has been seen that sometimes bids of two organizations clash with each other, thus distorting the market.” It is being assumed that by following a timetable for bidding, these organizations can evenly distribute their tender and auction activity throughout the year.
According to the timetable, SECI will have the months of Dec, Mar, Jun & Sept for its tender and auction activity. NTPC and other public sector units will utilize Jan, Apr, Jul, and Oct for tender & auction activity. Further, the state implementing agencies will use Feb, May, Aug, and Nov for the activities.

MNRE has requested implementing agencies to follow this timetable in light of the tender trajectory that was announced earlier. As per the trajectory, 30 GW of solar will be tendered and auctioned in the current and the next Financial years. The timeline is to be followed by the large-scale projects tenders only and not the rooftop solar tenders.
The manufacturers are in acceptance of the proposed plan and believe, that now they will be able to plan their activities in an efficient manner. However, people in the industry are skeptical if the state will follow this timetable, since MNRE is an organization providing guidelines and it is up to the state to decide whether to follow it or not.