The government of Baicheng, a city in China’s Jilin Province, formally released a tender for 1.4GW of generation capacity based on new energy technologies on September 9. The tender is designed to support the development of the Lugu HVDC transmission system and encourage the development of new energy technologies in the province. Enterprises that fit the requirements of the tender are invited to put forth their bids.
Set to have a transmission capacity of 10GW, the Lugu HVDC transmission system will serve Northeast China. The 1.4GW tender, which will lead to the establishment of new energy projects in the northwestern part of Jilin, will contribute to the utilization of the transmission system and raise the share of new energy technologies in the region’s electricity supply. Baicheng is surrounded by the great plains of Nengjiang and Korchin. The area within its jurisdiction totals around 260,000 square kilometers, and its population totals around 1.86 million. Thanks to its geographical features and natural resources, the city is a suitable place for the development of PV and wind projects.
The distribution of the 1.4GW of tendered capacity by technology is as follow: 800MW for wind energy, 400MW for solar PV, and 200MW for solar thermal energy.
Enterprises that are eligible to bid for the 1.4GW tender are mostly limited to domestic incorporated entities. Joint bids are accepted but limited to just two enterprises for each joint bid. State-owned enterprises or conglomerates that feature a state-owned enterprise as an investor are encouraged to bid. The tender is split into multiple projects with some being higher up in priority. The general rule is that each eligible enterprise or conglomerate can bid for one project. If it plans to bid for two projects at the same time, it must provide a notarized document detailing the project development schedule (i.e., which of the two projects will be handled first). If the two projects are both designated as priority projects, then the bidder is required to proceed in accordance with the approved schedule.
Regarding the 400MW tendered capacity for solar PV, the bid submission deadline is December 31, 2020. Eligible bidders for solar PV projects must possess no less than 500MW of grid-connected and operating PV generation capacity. Foreign enterprises or investors that are taking part in the tendering process as a partner of a conglomerate have to provide translated and notarized documents proving that they meet the eligibility requirements.
All projects under the tender are scheduled for grid connection by December 31, 2023. For solar PV and solar thermal projects, the mandated operational period is 25 years. The mandated operational period for wind projects is 20 years. It should be noted that the operational period excludes the development and construction phase.