SECI Floats 10 MW Solar + 20 MWh BESS Tender With 2-Hour Discharge in Odisha

Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has recently issued a solar-plus-storage tender in Odisha, providing a 10 MW grid-connected solar project along with a 10 MW/20 MWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in the state.

This tender reflects a rise in BESS projects in Odisha, which earlier saw Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL), a subsidiary of Coal India Limited (CIL), issue an Expression of Interest (EoI) to set up a battery energy storage system (BESS) facility of up to 60 MWh within the state. Through this earlier tender, MCL aimed to meet a peak contract demand of 86 MVA and is exploring the integration of BESS with its existing and upcoming solar plants.

The latest solar-plus-storage project by SECI, on the other hand, offers Viability Gap Funding (VGF) and includes the setting up of a transmission network up to the interconnection/delivery point to supply solar power to SECI, at the developer’s own cost. SECI has sought bids until March 23, 2026.

The Buying Entity would intimate the hours—two hours per day—during which it intends to draw energy from the BESS on a day-ahead basis. The Solar Power Developer (SPD) would maintain the BESS capacity to enable the discharge of power as desired by the Buying Entity.

Moreover, the Buying Entity would inform the hours—two hours during the peak hours of the day—during which it intends to draw energy from the BESS daily. These two hours chosen by the Buying Entity for a day would be the peak hours for that day. The Buying Entity would choose the two hours such that there is a continuous discharge from the BESS for at least one hour. The peak hours of a day would commence from 6:00 pm and continue until 9:00 am of the subsequent day.

Scope of Work

Under the scope of work of SECI's latest tender, the project developer would also be responsible for identifying land, installing and owning the project, along with obtaining connectivity and necessary approvals, and interconnection with the STU network for the supply of power to SECI.

The Solar Power Developer is also mandated to deliver 2,000 kWh of energy per MW-rated project capacity of the project, in AC terms, during peak hours as per the schedule given by the Buying Entity (i.e., for each 10 MW of project capacity, the SPD would supply up to 20,000 kWh of energy during peak hours) daily. Reconciliation of the same would be carried out on a monthly basis.