SECI floats 700 MW solar tender for C&I consumers

By Staff Report September 7, 2026 6:50 pm IST

The deadline for online bid submission is October 5, 2026, while offline bid submissions are due by October 7, 2026.

The Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) has floated a 700 MW solar tender to facilitate renewable power supply for commercial and industrial (C&I) consumers. The Request for Selection (RfS) covers 700 MW of Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS)-connected Solar PV Power Projects to be developed across India in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and by Export Oriented Units (EOUs).

A key provision of the tender is that the power procured will be supplied to a C&I consumer located in Odisha, which enables exemption from the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) requirements, subject to the applicable provisions. Under the RfS, project developers will have end-to-end responsibility for project development, including land identification, project installation and ownership. Developers will also be required to secure statutory approvals, permits, connectivity and interconnection with the ISTS network up to the Delivery Point.

SECI has set the minimum bid capacity at 50 MW, while bidders can bid for up to the entire 700 MW capacity. Bids must be submitted in multiples of 10 MW. The RfS document fee has been fixed at ₹50,000, with a bid processing fee of ₹20 lakh plus GST. The tender also requires an EMD of ₹8 lakh per MW.

Eligible Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) will be exempt from the RfS document fee, bid processing fee and EMD, subject to fulfilment of the prescribed eligibility conditions.

The tender stipulates a minimum bidder net worth of ₹80 lakh per MW, calculated as of the last day of FY 2025-26 or at least seven days prior to the bid submission deadline. The deadline for online bid submission is October 5, 2026, while offline bid submissions are due by October 7, 2026. The tender comes as demand for renewable electricity from India’s C&I segment continues to rise, driven by corporate decarbonisation commitments, renewable power procurement and the increasing focus on cost-competitive clean electricity. The 700 MW procurement is expected to add further momentum to utility-scale solar deployment while expanding access to renewable power for industrial and commercial consumers.