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SECI Invites Bids for Renewable Power Trading Partner to Monetise Growing Clean Energy Portfolio

The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has invited bids to select a Power Trading Licensee (PTL) as a collaboration partner for trading renewable electricity emerging from its existing and upcoming renewable-energy and energy-storage portfolio. The initiative is intended to create greater flexibility in selling power that becomes available before scheduled commercial operation, remains surplus under existing long-term contracts or is generated by SECI-owned renewable and storage assets.

Under the proposed arrangement, the selected trading partner will purchase renewable electricity available before the Scheduled Commercial Operation Date (SCOD), as well as surplus power that has not been procured by designated buying entities under SECI's long-term Power Sale Agreements (PSAs) and Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). The power can subsequently be sold through short- or medium-term arrangements, providing SECI with an additional route to monetise electricity that might otherwise remain uncontracted.

The selected PTL will also have a role in long-term procurement. It will be required to procure renewable power under SECI-RPD long-term PPAs, potentially for periods of up to 25 years, in accordance with the applicable tender conditions and draft contractual arrangements. The precise terms will be determined through the tender framework or mutually agreed arrangements involving SECI, the selected trading partner and the relevant renewable power developer.

The initial collaboration period will be three years, with the possibility of a one-year extension subject to satisfactory performance and mutual agreement. The arrangement could become increasingly important as SECI's renewable portfolio expands across multiple technologies, including solar, wind, hybrid renewable projects, firm and dispatchable renewable energy (FDRE) and round-the-clock (RTC) power.

SECI has also indicated that it may explore the development of additional renewable and storage projects in collaboration with the selected trading partner. Potential areas include grid-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS), pumped-storage projects and a range of renewable-generation configurations. This creates the possibility of the partnership extending beyond power trading into a broader commercial ecosystem supporting the development and sale of flexible clean electricity.

The selected PTL will be expected to procure renewable power available with SECI on a long-term basis and sell it onward to distribution companies, commercial and industrial consumers, bulk consumers and participants through various electricity-market platforms and mechanisms. Such flexibility could allow renewable electricity to be matched with different categories of demand depending on contractual requirements, market conditions and the availability profile of the generation.

The requirement comes as India's renewable-energy market becomes increasingly complex. Large volumes of solar and wind capacity are being added, but generation does not always coincide with electricity demand. Solar output is concentrated during daylight hours, while demand often increases during evening periods. Storage, hybrid projects, flexible generation and sophisticated power trading arrangements can help bridge this gap and improve the commercial utilisation of renewable electricity.

A trading partner with significant market experience can also provide access to multiple routes for selling electricity. Depending on the applicable regulations and contractual arrangements, renewable power can be supplied through bilateral contracts, medium-term or short-term transactions and organised electricity-market platforms. This can be particularly useful for managing surplus generation or electricity that becomes available outside the original procurement schedule.

SECI has established stringent eligibility criteria for prospective bidders. The selected company must hold a valid Category-I Inter-State Trading Licence issued by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC). Bidders must also demonstrate experience in long-term, medium-term or short-term renewable-energy power trading and must have achieved an average annual power-trading volume of at least 10,000 million units (MU) during the preceding three financial years.

In addition to trading experience, bidders must demonstrate project-development or engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) capabilities. They are required to have developed or executed renewable-energy projects involving design, engineering, supply, construction, erection, testing and commissioning with a cumulative capacity of at least 50 MW during the preceding seven years. The qualifying projects must have been operational for at least six months before the bid-submission deadline.

The financial qualification requirements are also substantial. Prospective bidders must have achieved a minimum average annual turnover of Rs 422 crore during the last three financial years and maintain a positive net worth in the most recently completed financial year. The tender document fee has been fixed at Rs 25,000 plus applicable GST, while bidders must submit an earnest money deposit of Rs 12 lakh. The successful bidder will subsequently be required to provide a performance bank guarantee of Rs 60 lakh.

Online bids must be submitted by September 7, 2026, with the techno-commercial bids scheduled to be opened on September 10, 2026. The selection process will determine the trading entity that will work alongside SECI in managing the commercial sale of renewable electricity across its growing project portfolio.

The proposed partnership could become increasingly relevant as renewable projects shift from simple energy generation towards more sophisticated combinations of generation, storage and flexible delivery. SECI's potential portfolio of solar, wind, hybrid, FDRE, RTC and storage projects will generate electricity with different production profiles, making efficient scheduling, contracting and market participation an important part of project economics.

For SECI, the arrangement provides an additional mechanism to manage surplus and emerging renewable power while strengthening its ability to connect clean-energy generation with a wider pool of buyers. For the selected PTL, the partnership could provide access to a substantial pipeline of renewable electricity and potential opportunities across long-term procurement, short-term trading and future renewable-plus-storage developments.

The tender therefore reflects a broader evolution in India's renewable-energy market, where the challenge is increasingly moving from simply adding generation capacity to efficiently integrating, scheduling, storing and commercially dispatching that electricity. A strong power-trading ecosystem will be essential for matching rapidly expanding renewable supply with the diverse and increasingly flexible electricity requirements of DISCOMs, industries and other consumers.