SECI Invites Bids To Set Up 450,000 MTA Of Green Hydrogen Production Facilities

In a recent notification, the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has invited bids for the green hydrogen producers to set up 450,000 metric tonnes of annual production facilities across the country under the SIGHT (Strategic Intervention for Green Hydrogen Transition) program, which is a significant financial measure under the National Green Hydrogen Mission.

Under this notification, the bidders have been given a deadline to submit an amount that shall be equivalent to Rs. 5,000/Metric Tonne for the allocated capacity in the form of bank guarantees, within a period of 15 days from receipt of the letter of facility from the Solar Energy Corporation of India. As per the terms of the tender, the producers of green hydrogen shall be required to set up the production facilities in thousand metric tonnes (TMTs) scale under the production of green hydrogen and the derivatives obtained thereof with the objective of promotion and maximization of clean energy and sustainable development.

Under the present notification, a limit of 10,000 MT/Annum and 90,000 MT/Annum has also been set wherein the projects should commence within a period of 30 months from the date when the letter of award has been received. Moreover, there is a flexibility that any bidder from any country that shares its land borders with India shall have eligibility to bid in this tender in case the bidder is registered with the authority competent to take action. Furthermore, the production facilities that have been awarded under this tender shall possess the eligibility to obtain direct incentives by the SECI as per the calculations based upon Rs/Metric Tonnes production computed annually from 3 years from the date of commencement of producing green hydrogen under the project.

Another tender has also been issued by the SECI wherein it has issued a request for the selection of electrolyser-manufacturing companies which shall set up 1.5 GW of electrolyser manufacturing capacities under Tranche – I of the SIGHT programmes. This is not the first time such steps have been taken by the government. Earlier, the Ministry of renewable resources had also released a notification in form of a framework document which had outlined incentive programs for the manufacturing of electrolysers and the production of green hydrogen plants in the country.

Conclusion

This program is a framework step towards neutralizing India’s carbon footprint globally along with giving a positive direction to the sustainable development mission of the country. Under this production linked incentive scheme, it is expected that there would be a significant increase in the measures to reduce India’s reliance on conventional sources of energy and adoption of green sources.