SECI 700 MW Odisha C&I Solar Tender: RfS Details & Deadlines

Direct answer

SECI has now issued the detailed Request for Selection (RfS) for its 700 MW ISTS-connected solar tender on 3 September 2026 (RfS No. SECI/C&P/IPP/15/0009/26-27), superseding the 8 July 2026 Notice Inviting Tender that announced the procurement. Online bids close at 6:00 PM on 5 October 2026 (offline submissions by 7 October), with a pre-bid meeting on 14 September 2026. The tender will supply power to a C&I buying entity with an Export Oriented Unit (EOU) in Odisha, with the buyer intending to use the electricity for green hydrogen or green ammonia production under the National Green Hydrogen Mission.

What changed since the NIT

The July NIT established intent: 700 MW of ISTS-connected solar, procured tariff-competitively under the C&I-1 category, developed on a build-own-operate (BOO) basis, with SECI as intermediary nodal procurer. The September RfS now fixes the commercial and procedural details that were pending:

• Bid timeline: RfS issued 3 September 2026; pre-bid meeting 14 September; online bid submission closes 5 October 2026 (6:00 PM); offline 7 October; bid opening 8 October.
• Bid size: minimum 50 MW, maximum 700 MW, in multiples of 10 MW. A single project may be sited at multiple locations with different delivery points.
• Financial requirements: RfS document fee ₹50,000 plus GST; bid processing fee ₹20 lakh plus GST; earnest money deposit of ₹8 lakh per MW (bank guarantee, payment on order instrument, or insurance surety bond, valid 12 months). After award, a performance bank guarantee of ₹20 lakh per MW precedes PPA signing, plus success charges of ₹1 lakh per MW plus GST in two instalments.
• Net worth criterion: at least ₹8 million (₹0.8 crore) per MW of quoted contracted capacity, measured as of FY 2025-26 year-end or within seven days of the bid deadline, including eligible affiliates' equity commitments.
• Schedule: scheduled commencement of supply (SCSD) 24 months from the PPA effective date, with full financial closure due at least six months before SCSD; a maximum three-month extension is available subject to penalties including pro-rata encashment of the PBG.
• Connectivity deadline: grid connectivity at the delivery point on or before 31 December 2028, or within 24 months of PPA effectiveness, whichever is earlier.
• Contracting chain: SECI signs 25-year PPAs with selected developers and back-to-back power sale agreements with the buying entity; the buyer's identity is to be intimated later, with Paradeep ISTS substation reported as the drawal point.
• ALMM treatment: projects structured within SEZ or EOU frameworks qualify for exemption from ALMM requirements per the applicable MNRE circular of May 2024 — meaning modules need not be from the ALMM Approved List for these projects.

TL;DR: the tender has moved from announcement to execution-ready. Developers and large power buyers now have fixed dates, fees, and bankability terms — bids close 5 October 2026.

Key tender facts

Why the offtake structure matters

This is not a standard discom procurement. The power is destined for a specific industrial consumer's EOU in Odisha, aggregated through a central intermediary. Three features make it notable for the wider C&I market:

First, the tender tests whether buyer-linked, centrally administered procurement can standardise documentation for corporate clean-power deals. Most Indian corporate renewable purchases today are negotiated bilaterally through captive, group-captive, or third-party open-access structures. A published, competitive tender creates price discovery and template documentation that other large loads — data centres, refineries, export manufacturers — could replicate.

Second, the green hydrogen and ammonia end-use ties solar procurement directly to the National Green Hydrogen Mission. Export-oriented hydrogen and ammonia production needs large volumes of certified renewable electricity. Developers and technology suppliers watching the green-molecule market should read this tender as a template for how demand aggregation through SECI can work.

Third, the SEZ/EOU siting condition carries a commercial benefit: ALMM exemption. Projects inside SEZs or EOUs are exempt from sourcing ALMM-approved modules under MNRE's May 2024 circular, allowing global module supply chains. The trade-off is a precise legal question — whether the generation asset itself must sit within the qualifying area, and how EOU status is evidenced — that bidders should resolve against the RfS text, not press coverage.

For context on how these structures compare, our CAPEX, OPEX and open-access comparison and group captive solar guide cover the mainstream alternatives for factories that do not operate at 50 MW-plus scale.

Landed cost is not the bid tariff

The discovered tariff from this e-reverse auction will be a generation tariff at the ISTS delivery point. A buyer's or developer's landed economics must additionally model transmission charges and any ISTS waiver window, transmission losses, scheduling and deviation-settlement costs, state open-access charges, banking treatment, cross-subsidy surcharge and additional surcharge, and taxes. Our open access solar guide itemises these cost components, and the state comparison tracker shows how charges differ across states.

The same discipline applies to contract review. A 25-year PPA crosses multiple tariff cycles and regulatory regimes; change-in-law clauses, termination compensation, and demand-risk allocation determine realised value. Our solar PPA agreement guide lists the clauses that materially move outcomes for industrial buyers.

What C&I buyers should watch

• The auction result. The bid window closes 5 October 2026; the discovered tariff will become a market benchmark for long-term contracted solar in the 50-700 MW class.
• Whether SECI repeats the model. A second buyer-linked tender would confirm this as a procurement pathway rather than a one-off. The parallel FDRE-IX expansion (1,200 MW to 1,500 MW of firm-and-dispatchable capacity, with WBSEDCL and KSEBL among listed offtakers) shows SECI scaling multiple products simultaneously.
• North-India relevance. Sun Wave operates in the Faridabad-Delhi NCR, Haryana, Rajasthan and UP belt, where C&I buyers are far below this tender's 50 MW floor. The practical lesson is method, not participation: benchmark any open-access or group-captive quote against discovered benchmarks, and insist on the same landed-cost modelling discipline at factory scale. Our 1 MW solar plant cost guide applies that discipline to rooftop-scale projects.

FAQ

Is the SECI 700 MW Odisha C&I tender open for bids?

Yes. The RfS was issued on 3 September 2026 and online bid submission closes at 6:00 PM on 5 October 2026, with offline bids accepted until 7 October. A pre-bid meeting is scheduled for 14 September 2026.

Where must the solar projects be located?

Projects must be developed within Special Economic Zones (SEZ) or Export Oriented Unit (EOU) areas in India and connected to the ISTS at a minimum of 220 kV. A single project may be sited at multiple locations with different delivery points. The offtaker is a C&I buying entity with an EOU in Odisha; the RfS reported Paradeep ISTS substation as the drawal point.

Does the bid tariff equal the consumer's landed power cost?

No. The auction discovers a generation tariff at the ISTS delivery point. Transmission charges and waivers, losses, scheduling, state open-access charges, surcharges and taxes must be added to arrive at landed cost for a specific buyer and state.

Why is there an ALMM exemption in this tender?

MNRE's May 2024 circular exempts projects established within SEZs or EOUs from ALMM module requirements. That exemption is specific to the SEZ/EOU framework and the RfS conditions; it does not change ALMM compliance for ordinary net-metering or open-access rooftop projects.

What should interested parties do now?

Download the RfS and NIT from SECI and the ISN-ETS portal (tender reference SECI-2026-TN000027), attend the 14 September pre-bid meeting, track corrigenda, and prepare bids against the 5 October 2026 deadline. Do not rely on news summaries for submission decisions.

Sources

• SECI 700 MW ISTS-connected solar RfS coverage — Renewable Watch
• SECI invites bids for 700 MW ISTS-connected solar PV projects for C&I consumers — SolarQuarter
• SECI 700 MW solar tender for SEZ and EOU projects — The Battery Magazine
• SECI issues 700 MW solar tender for C&I consumers in SEZ areas — Construction World
• SECI raises FDRE-IX tender capacity to 1,500 MW — SolarQuarter