Government invites bids to set up green hydrogen production facilities.

The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) recently invited bids from interested parties to set up 4.5 lakh tonnes per annum (LTPA) of green hydrogen (GH2) production facilities in the country under the SIGHT scheme.

“Selection of green hydrogen producers for setting up production facilities in India under the Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT) scheme (Mode-1-Tranche-I),” the RfS document floated by SECI said.

The last date for submitting bids for the same is September 11 and the bids will be opened on the next day (September 12, 2023).

“The total capacity to be allocated under this tender is 4.5 LTPA of GH2. A bidder, including its parent, affiliate or ultimate parent or any group company shall submit a single bid undertaking to set up a GH2 production facility. The projects should be quoted in multiples of 500 tonnes only,” the document said.

The production facilities mandated under the tender will have to be commissioned within 30 months from the date of Letter of Award (LoA), it added.

The production facilities awarded under this RfS will be eligible for direct incentive by SECI in Rs per kg of GH2 production on an annual basis for a period of three years from the date of commencement of production (CoD).

Earlier this year, the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) launched the National Green Hydrogen Mission, under which it is implementing the SIGHT programme that aims to establish an electrolyser manufacturing base and green hydrogen producing facilities.

Under SIGHT, the total financial incentive for producing green hydrogen and manufacturing electrolysers domestically is Rs. 17,490 crore. For GH2 production, the government has allocated Rs 13,050 crore from FY26 to FY30.

The total capacity targeted is 4.5 LTPA, which is divided into two pathways. Under the first, which is technology agnostic, the target is to have 4.10 LTPA capacity, while the second pathway is for biomass-based production to achieve 40,000 tonnes per annum capacity.

A bidder can bid in either of the two pathways, or in both of them. Capacities under the first pathway will be awarded first, followed by award under the second.

HBL