SECI Wind Tranche-XXI: Bid Costs, Deadlines and Recent Tariffs

Bid Dates

As of October 24, SECI's tender page shows these dates, with no extension notice:

• Tender issued: October 7, 2026
• Pre-bid meeting: October 14, 2026, held at 11 am after SECI moved it from the afternoon
• Online bid deadline: October 29, 2026, 6 pm
• Bank guarantee or equivalent, offline: November 2, 2026, 6 pm
• Bid opening: November 3, 2026, 10 am
• Reverse auction: date sent by email to eligible bidders

Online and offline submission both count. A bid uploaded on time is treated as incomplete if the earnest money instrument does not reach SECI by the offline deadline, and in that case the document fee and processing fee are forfeited.

What SECI Is Offering

SECI wants 1,200 MW of wind projects connected to the inter-state transmission system, built on a build, own and operate basis. Winners sign 25-year power purchase agreements with SECI, which resells the power to state buyers on a back-to-back basis. Selection runs as a single stage, two envelope bid followed by an e-reverse auction on the ISN-ETS portal.

One bidder, including its parent and group companies, can submit a single bid for 50 MW to 600 MW and can win no more than 600 MW in total. Developers pick their own land and their own inter-state substation anywhere in India, from the lists the RfS allows, and they carry the cost of connectivity and the line up to the delivery point. The minimum voltage at the inter-state substation is 220 kV. Micro and small enterprises with a valid Udyam registration are exempt from the document fee, the processing fee and the earnest money.

Who Can Bid

Renewable Watch's summary of the RfS gives the financial tests. A bidder needs a net worth of at least ₹1.368 crore per MW of quoted capacity, measured at the end of the last financial year or at least seven days before the bid deadline. It must also meet one liquidity test: annual turnover of ₹82.83 lakh per MW, profit before depreciation, interest and tax of ₹16.57 lakh per MW, or an in-principle credit line of ₹20.71 lakh per MW.

Foreign companies can bid alone or in a consortium, and a foreign winner must form an Indian subsidiary company with at least 51% shareholding before signing. Bidders from countries that share a land border with India must be registered with the competent authority under the Finance Ministry's 2023 procurement order.

What Bidders Pay

Earnest money can be a bank guarantee, a payment on order instrument from PFC or REC, or an insurance surety bond. Late payment of the first instalment of success charges attracts delay charges of ₹1,000 per MW per day on the overdue amount. The same daily rate applies to late PPA signing.

SECI also takes a trading margin as intermediary. SolarQuarter reports it as ₹0.07 per kWh, with a ₹0.02 per kWh discount from developers who opt for SECI's payment security fund. Developers who opt in give the ₹0.02 discount on every monthly bill for the whole PPA.

What Happens After the Award

The PPA effective date is 15 days after SECI invites the winner to sign. If a project is late, the whole performance guarantee is encashed in proportion to the capacity not yet supplying. After the six months, the contracted capacity shrinks to what is already supplying and the PPA ends for the rest. If the delay comes from the transmission side rather than the developer, the supply date moves to 60 days after the substation and connectivity are ready, and SECI decides each case.

A project can supply in parts. For inter-state connected projects the first part has to be at least 50 MW, and further parts can be 10 MW or more. Financial closure needs 100% of the funding tied up, along with the turbine maker, model and purchase order. Missing it can be extended by paying ₹100 per MW per day, but the supply date does not move.

What the Standard PPA Says

SECI published its standard PPA with the tender. The tariff discovered in the auction is fixed for the whole term. SECI must open a monthly letter of credit in the developer's favour before supply starts, for 110% of the estimated average monthly bill in the first year and 110% of the previous year's average after that, and SECI pays the cost of maintaining it. Bills fall due 45 days after SECI receives them, and late payment carries a surcharge under the central late payment rules.

Generation compensation is built in for grid problems. If the project could generate but the power is not taken, because of transmission unavailability or reduced offtake, the buyer pays compensation for hours beyond 50 a year, at the tariff for the power offered but not scheduled. The other side is a shortfall penalty: a project that supplies less than 80% of its declared output in a year pays 50% of the tariff on the shortfall, except in force majeure.

If CERC takes longer than 60 days from SECI's petition, or 120 days from the power sale agreement, whichever is later, to adopt the tariff, the supply date moves by the same number of days.

Turbine Rules and Over-Installation

Turbines must be type-certified models from a manufacturer on MNRE's Revised List of Models and Manufacturers, as updated until the scheduled supply date, and the developer signs an affidavit to that effect at commissioning. Trade press now also calls the list ALMM for wind. The RfS itself uses RLMM.

Developers must declare an annual capacity utilisation factor, no lower than 25%, and then supply between 80% and 120% of it each year over the PPA. A developer can install more turbines than the contracted capacity, but SECI buys only the contracted amount, and the extra capacity must be reported to the grid operator with turbine-level data. In Gujarat and Rajasthan, projects have to follow the Supreme Court orders and MNRE guidelines on bird protection in Great Indian Bustard habitats.

What Recent Wind Tenders Cleared At

Two auctions give the most recent price signal. In October 2026 CERC adopted ₹3.67 to ₹3.69 per kWh for SECI's 1,200 MW Tranche-XIX, which was tendered in October 2025 and awarded to seven developers in February 2026. Waaree Forever Energies took 300 MW at ₹3.68. CERC also adopted ₹3.64 to ₹3.65 per kWh for SJVN's 600 MW Wind-3 tender.

The same orders say something about the trading margin. CERC allows ₹0.07 per kWh where an escrow arrangement or an irrevocable letter of credit is provided in favour of the generators. Without that security, the margin is capped at ₹0.02 per kWh under its trading licence rules. Tranche-XXI sets out the same ₹0.07 margin and its standard PPA provides the letter of credit, so the security terms are written in. Check the final PPA you sign matches the standard one.

What This Means for Solar EPCs

A wind tender is a different build, but the contract structure will look familiar. The developer carries land, connectivity and the evacuation line, and that is where EPC and balance-of-plant work sits: foundations, roads, a pooling substation and the line to the inter-state substation. For solar EPCs, the useful points are the 24-month clock, the financial closure date that lands at month 18, and the turbine list, since a developer that orders a turbine outside the approved list cannot commission.

Hybrid is the bridge. Wind sites with spare land and spare connectivity are candidates for solar, and our guide to wind and solar hybrid site design covers that side.

Where Design Software Fits

Tranche-XXI is wind only, so turbine layout sits outside Reslink. Where a developer adds solar on the same land, design software like Reslink supports ground-mount feasibility up to 1 GW and produces the bill of materials and single line diagram for the solar side, so the two parts can be priced from one set of site assumptions.

See the full workflow → Book a demo

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What is SECI Tranche-XXI?

SECI's tender, issued October 7, 2026, to select developers for 1,200 MW of inter-state grid connected wind, with 25-year power purchase agreements and an e-reverse auction to set the tariff.

Q2. When is the bid deadline for Tranche-XXI?

Online bids close on October 29, 2026 at 6 pm. The bank guarantee for earnest money must reach SECI by November 2 at 6 pm, and bids open on November 3 at 10 am.

Q3. How much can one bidder bid for?

Between 50 MW and 600 MW in a single bid, and no more than 600 MW in total across the bidder's parent, affiliates and group companies.

Q4. What does it cost to bid?

₹50,000 plus GST for the RfS document, ₹20,000 per MW as a processing fee capped at ₹20 lakh, and ₹13.68 lakh per MW as earnest money. Small enterprises with a Udyam registration are exempt.

Q5. Which wind turbines are allowed?

Type-certified models from manufacturers on MNRE's approved list of models and manufacturers. The developer signs an affidavit at commissioning.

Q6. Where did recent SECI wind auctions clear?

SECI's Tranche-XIX cleared at ₹3.67 to ₹3.69 per kWh and SJVN's Wind-3 at ₹3.64 to ₹3.65, both adopted by CERC in October 2026.

Final takeaway

Tranche-XXI is a standard central wind tender with a short window left and heavy guarantees: ₹13.68 lakh per MW as earnest money, rising to ₹34.20 lakh per MW as the performance guarantee, before success charges. The last two auctions give you the price band to test your bid against, and the fixed tariff and the buyer's letter of credit in the standard PPA set how much of it reaches the developer.

You May Also Like

• How to Survey and Design a Wind Solar Hybrid Site
• India Is Targeting 100 GW of Wind by 2030
• CEA Mandatory Storage for Solar, Wind Projects 2027: Confirmed vs Open

Sources

• Solar Energy Corporation of India, tender page for SECI000288, RfS for 1,200 MW ISTS-connected wind, SECI-Tranche-XXI, with the pre-bid rescheduling notice (accessed October 24, 2026)
• Solar Energy Corporation of India, Request for Selection, RfS No. SECI/C&P/IPP/12/0011/26-27 (October 7, 2026), and the standard SECI power purchase agreement for Tranche-XXI
• Renewable Watch, "SECI tenders 1.2 GW wind projects" (October 9, 2026), for the net worth and liquidity tests
• SolarQuarter, "CERC Adopts INR 3.67 to 3.69/kWh Tariffs for 1,200 MW ISTS-Connected Wind Projects Under SECI Tranche-XIX" (October 15, 2026)
• Construction World, "UP to Secure 1,200 MW of Wind Power Through SECI, SJVN Tenders" (October 2026)

This guide reflects SECI's tender page and documents as of October 24, 2026. Check SECI's website and the ISN-ETS portal for amendments before relying on a date or a figure.