After cancelling the joint tender for solar and thermal projects totalling 11,200 MW, Urja Vikas and IT Services, the state government’s power procuring entity, announced a tender exclusively for 3,200 MW of thermal capacity. 

The revised tender excludes the controversial 8,000 MW solar component. Instead, the state agency is focusing on decentralized solar projects of smaller capacities awarded under the Kusum C, A, and PM Surya Ghar schemes by the three discoms to supply power locally at the sub-station level. 

Previously, the combined tender for both solar and thermal capacities (8,000 MW and 3,200 MW, respectively) faced criticism. Industry stakeholders had raised concerns that standalone solar or thermal companies would be disqualified from participating, limiting competition and potentially leading to higher power procurement costs due to insufficient bidders. 

Under the new tender, successful bidders will receive coal mine allocations as per the Centre’s Shakti policy, with agreements for power purchase set to last 25 years. The 3,200 MW thermal capacity has been divided into four plants of 800 MW each, and the detailed tender document is expected to be available by the end of the month. 

An industry source remarked that if separate tenders had been issued earlier, the auction and project allocation process could have been completed by now. However, they acknowledged that the government’s decision to issue separate tenders for thermal and solar projects was a step in the right direction. 

In the revised solar policy, the focus has shifted to decentralized solar projects. According to the policy, the state will prioritize the development of decentralized solar power projects with capacities ranging from 0.5 MW to 5 MW, located within or near 33 kV grid sub-stations. This move eliminates the need for large-scale auctions like the previous tender for 8,000 MW, emphasizing smaller, localized solar installations instead.