Indian Telephone Industries Limited (ITI Limited), a government-owned manufacturer of telecommunication equipment, has issued a tender to procure 600,000 kWh of solar power monthly for ten years from offsite ground-mounted projects in Karnataka through the open access route. According to the tender guidelines, the bidder will be responsible for identifying the location for the project, land acquisition, installation, commissioning of the project and the evacuation of power. The bidder will also be responsible for securing all necessary approvals, undertaking feasibility studies for setting up the solar project. The successful bidders will be given 180 days from the date of receiving open access approvals for the commercial operation of the project. The bid submission deadline for this tender is October 10, 2019.
Earlier on April 18, 2019, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation started procuring solar power from the Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Park in Madhya Pradesh. Through this landmark deal, DMRC became the first commercial consumer of its scale and size to procure solar power through the open access route from another state. Read about DMRC’s case study here:
https://renewablewatch.in/2019/05/26/open-access-route/
The open access route for buying renewable energy first gained popularity in southern India, particularly in Tamil Nadu, where wind project developers were not paid by the utilities for 6-12 months. Under the open access mechanism, these developers could break away from power purchase agreements with discoms to a group captive model in order to sell power directly to consumers. This was a win-win situation for both wind power developers and consumers.
Read the remarks made by Rahul Mishra, chief executive officer, Rays Future Energy; and Ashish Arora, senior deputy general manager, electric, DMRC at RenewableWatch’s conference on Solar Power in India…
https://renewablewatch.in/2019/07/26/breaking-barriers/