Jodhpur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (JDVVNL) has issued a tender to develop 333.5 MW of solar power projects, including the installation of associated 11 kV transmission lines and remote monitoring systems, as part of Component A of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evem Utthan Mahabhiyan (PM KUSUM) programme. The deadline for bid submission is November 29, 2024.
Bidders are required to submit a bid security of Rs 100,000 per MW, and selected bidders must provide an additional performance security. Projects under this initiative must be commissioned within nine months of the work order, with developers responsible for operation and maintenance over a 25-year period. A 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) will be signed between the successful bidders and Rajasthan Urja Vikas Nigam at a tariff of Rs 3.04 per kWh, to be executed within seven days following submission of the performance bank guarantee. Notably, Component A of the PM KUSUM program provides no subsidy or financial assistance for these solar projects. All solar photovoltaic modules used must be listed under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s Approved Models and Manufacturers of Solar Photovoltaic Modules (List-I), and developers must ensure a minimum capacity utilisation factor of 17%.
Eligible participants include individual farmers, groups of farmers, cooperatives, panchayats, farmer producer organisations, and water user associations, who can establish solar power facilities with capacities ranging from 500 kW to 2 MW at a single location. Additionally, renewable energy developers may develop these projects on behalf of farmers, with the requirement that decentralised solar projects are installed on unused or barren farmland within a five-kilometer radius of a 33/11 kV JDVVNL substation.
In October 2023, JDVVNL issued three requests for proposals (RfPs) for the installation and commissioning of 185 grid-connected solar power projects in Churu district circle in Jodhpur with a cumulative capacity of 494.82 MW under component C of the PM-KUSUM programme, for feeder level solarisation.
