MoP amends competitive bidding guidelines for solar power procurement

The Ministry of Power has amended the competitive bidding guidelines for the procurement of power from grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) projects. Under the new guidelines, the land acquisition period and the time frame for achieving financial closure for the projects has been increased from seven months to 12 months from the date of execution of the power purchase agreement (PPA). In addition, the time frame for project commissioning has been increased from 13 months to 21 months from the date of PPA execution, whereas for the commissioning of projects of 250 MW and above capacity outside a solar park, it has been increased from 15 months to 24 months. The ministry hopes that the extensions will ensure timely project execution and fewer disputes between the developers and procurers on account of time constraints or delayed project commissioning.