Innovative 500MW Gujarat solar tender likely to draw ‘intense competition’

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Credit: Welspun

Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL) has issued an innovative tender for 500MW of grid-connected solar PV projects to be developed across the state, which should draw “intense competition”, according to a prominent analyst.

An extra 500MW capacity under a “greenshoe option” may be offered up to bidders who are willing to execute PPAs with GUVNL at the lowest tariff (L1 rate) from the auction, at their originally quoted capacities.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

Vinay Rustagi, managing director of consultancy firm Bridge to India, told PV Tech that there are several factors that make this tender likely to draw “very high, very intense competition”.

Firstly, the off-taker GUVNL enjoys the highest credit rating amongst India's utilities, while the change-in-law provision suggests that the utility will absorb the risks of any imposition of anti-dumping or safeguard duties, which have been looming threats to project developers. Rustagi said that as a result, the Gujarat tender should progress quickly, unlike many Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) tenders that have been held up due to uncertainty over such change-in-law provisions.

For the extra “greenshoe” 500MW, willing bidders will have to give their confirmation within a period of 10 days from the auction closing. Priority shall be given to the public sector and government organizations in their order of ranking in the e-reverse auction followed by their ranking in the initial price bids.

Rustagi said: “The provision just shows that Gujarat Discoms and the government, in general, are ahead of the curve in coming out with more innovative provisions, so I think there should be a fairly good appetite for it and I suspect the tariffs will be competitive.”

He also noted that the RfP document does not mention a benchmark tariff specification. As such specifications can be restrictive in an environment where costs are going up, Rustagi said this omission should also help the tender.

The minimum project capacity shall be 25MW and a single bidder can go for the entire 500MW capacity in the first instance. GUVNL will sign 25-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) with successful bidders. The deadline for bid submissions is 19 March. 

Last September, a 500MW solar auction held by GUNVL saw a surprisingly low winning bid of INR2.65/kWh (US$0.041) from Jewellery firm GRT Jewellers.

The latest major India auction held in Karnataka saw an uptick in prices, but these were for relatively small capacity projects in areas of lower irradiance than some of the preceding auctions.

Read Next

August 6, 2025
The Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has published the approved list of models and manufacturers (ALMM) for solar cells, which contains 13GW of annual nameplate capacity across six manufacturers.
August 4, 2025
Indian solar PV module manufacturer Vikram Solar will supply 250MW of n-type modules to Bondada Group for its solar project in Maharashtra.
August 4, 2025
Waaree Energies has commissioned a 1.8GW solar module manufacturing line at its factory in Chikhli, Navsari district, Gujarat.
July 30, 2025
Donald Trump has announced a 25% tariff on all imports entering the US from India from the 1st August 2025.
July 29, 2025
US-based solar manufacturer T1 Energy has expressed support for the US government’s tariff investigations into global polysilicon imports and solar products from Laos, Indonesia and India.
July 25, 2025
A round-up of news from the Indian solar sector this week, including Reliance Industries' cell plant, Juniper Green Energy powering solar PV and Solex Energy launching new modules.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
October 2, 2025
London,UK
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines