Government enterprise SECI has extended till October 12 the deadline for submission of bids by solar power developers for generation of 10 GW of electricity. The bidders were also expected to set up manufacturing units. This is the third such extension by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) as the auction failed to find any interest from industry players.

Project developers said they had abstained from bidding as the project was unviable. An industry representative said only a single bid had been put in.

“The are virtually no takers for this project. With Re-INVEST around the corner, this is the biggest flop on the part of the government,” a top official with one of country’s largest solar developers told BusinessLine .

According to industry sources, the project does not seem viable with the tariff capped at ₹2.75 per unit. Developers also note that lenders find it difficult to finance a project having both generation and manufacturing in one SPV as manufacturing is perceived as a risk. However, SECI officials said the deadline was being extended following requests from bidders.

The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) had invited the bids earlier this month, and they were open till 6 pm on Thursday.

A SECI statement said, “The last date of submission of bids is hereby extended till 6 pm on October 12, 2018. The techno-commercial bid opening shall be carried out from 11 am on October 15, 2018.”

SECI had initially issued a tender on May 25, 2018, for developing 10 GW of generation capacity. It had also mandated that winners of the bid should also set up 5 GW of manufacturing capacity.

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