Of the nearly 46 GW of PPAs that remain unsigned, around 16 GW, or roughly 35 per cent, are vanilla solar
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The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) is planning to rebid those vanilla solar and wind power projects that are languishing due to delays in signing of power purchase agreements (PPAs).
The government’s intent is to “remodel” these capacities by clubbing them with battery energy storage systems (BESS) so that they can be utilised by Discoms during peak demand non-solar hours. Vanilla RE projects have operational concerns such as the issue of intermittency of RE sources and grid stability.
The issue relates to around 40 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy (RE) capacity, most of which is plain vanilla solar or wind power, that have found no takers among Discoms. In April, New & Renewable Energy Minister Pralhad Joshi said that he is talking with states to convince them to fast track signing of PPAs.
Sources said that most of these bids that happened were either vanilla solar or vanilla wind power projects. Currently, in the power exchange daytime prices have come down. So, during peak solar hours, the requirement of electricity is not as high as it used to be. In course of time the offering to Discoms will have to change.
“The right mix for addressing their (Discoms) daytime requirement and peak demand will have to happen through firm and despatchable RE (FDRE) or round-the-clock (RTC) supply. So, to that extent Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) is now reformulating its bidding system and bidding guidelines. It is trying to address the actual requirement of Discoms,” explained a top source.
Besides, future bids from the RE Implementing Agencies (REIAs) will come clubbed with BESS. Latest bids by SECI are now either FDRE or RTC, said one of the sources.
The government is also likely to allow RE developers to relinquish long-stuck projects without invoking bank guarantees. So far, surrendering a project would lead to relinquishment of bank guarantees. The exemption for developers with such projects may come with a cut-off date for.
“MNRE is deliberating on this (bank guarantee). It may offer some relaxation for these projects such as if a developer surrenders the project, the government will return the bank guarantee,” a source said.
According to an August 5 report by JM Financial, around 46 GW of RE capacities are currently idle in the country for want of signing of PPAs, which stems from a disproportionate surge in bids driven by the government’s mandate to invite bids for 50 GW annually during FY24–FY28.
Additionally, the evolving demand from Discoms—shifting from vanilla solar and wind projects up to 2019, to firm and dispatchable renewable energy (FDRE) and round-the-clock (RTC) in 2022, and now to solar combined with BESS-has contributed to the complexity, the brokerage added.
Of the nearly 46 GW of PPAs that remain unsigned, around 16 GW, or roughly 35 per cent, are vanilla solar. Among REIAs, NTPC and NHPC account for the largest share, contributing 16 GW and 12 GW, respectively, followed by SECI and SJVN, with each having 9 GW of unsigned PPAs.
Published on September 21, 2025
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/mnre-mulls-rebidding-for-languishing-vanilla-solar-wind-power-projects/article70077394.ece
