Yesterday, not enough bidders turned up by 6pm IST for Solar Energy Corporation of India’s (SECI) tender for 3GW of solar manufacturing linked with 10GW of projects and the deadline has been extended to 12 October. An industry source told PV Tech that considering the government-led RE-INVEST 2018 event is just one week away – an event that seeks to draw major global investment in India’s renewable energy plans – the poor interest in the tender could be a big set back for the government. The tender was first issued in May drawing some early stage interest from heavyweight manufacturers both domestic and foreign, however, the tender specifications have put off players and led to several delays already. The original 5GW manufacturing component had also been reduced to 3GW recently. Consultancy firm Bridge to India, had previously said when the tender was at 5GW that the capital outlay required narrowed the list of viable candidates to just four: ReNew, Adani, Softbank and Tata Power. Article revised to say the tender attracted few bidders rather than none. Tags: india, seci, manufacturing tender
The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has been forced to delay the deadline of its tender for the manufacturing of 3 GW in solar capacity, after an insufficient number of bidders put forward claims for the project. The news is a considerable setback for the Indian government, which had been aiming to use the offer to showcase the country's appeal to global investors at next week's RE-INVEST 2018 event. According to a statement released by SECI, it was unable to secure sufficient bids from potential buyers due to "technical issues" and delays with the filing of claims.