India’s OREDA launches 500 MW solar auction to help farmers

Farmers are encouraged to lease their lands to builders.

The Odisha Renewable Energy Development Agency (OREDA) has launched a tender to develop 500 MW of decentralized, ground-mounted solar projects in Odisha.

The project aims to enable farmers, cooperatives, village bodies, and other such entities to either develop the project or increase their earnings through leasing their land to set up the project by a builder. 

OREDA also aims to generate local employment through the project.

Under the terms of the e tender, solar plants will be set up on a build, own, operate basis, with farmers able to lease the sites and the electricity being sold to state electricity distribution company Grid Corporation of Odisha (Gridco) at a fixed price, determined by the tender.

Bidders must apply to develop between 500 kW and 2 MW of project capacity, in 50 kW increments, to be connected to each 33/11 kV substation listed in the tender document. There is no limit to the volume of generation capacity bidders can pitch for in the overall tender.

The successful bidder will be required to maintain a minimum capacity utilization factor (CUF) of 15% and a maximum CUF of 18.7%.