New Delhi: The Union power ministry has suggested that Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (GUVNL) rebid two battery energy storage system (BESS) project contracts totalling ₹3,130 crore won by embattled Gensol Engineering last year. The Gujarat state government-run power company is looking to rebid these two projects.
The two projects have a capacity of 500 MW/1000 MWh and 70 MH/140 MWh each.
“GUVNL is now looking at rebidding two BESS projects given to Gensol for EPC after the power ministry suggested fresh bids,” said one of the two people mentioned in the story.
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Another person said that Gensol has asked GUVNL to rather allow them to find a new EPC player to take up the project. However, GUVNL would look at a fresh bid, the second person added.
The Centre’s concerns arise from the fact that a significant share of Gensol’s ₹7,000-crore order book comes from state-run firms. NTPC Ltd, Damodar Valley Corp. Ltd (DVC), GUVNL and the Singareni Collieries Co. Ltd have placed large orders with the company led by the Gensol founders, accused of fund diversion and forgery by the market regulator. The orders pertain to solar engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) as well as battery energy storage systems (BESS).
The 70 MW/140 MWh project is worth around ₹450 crore. The project was to be developed by Gensol under a tariff-Based global competitive bidding model to provide energy storage capacity to GUVNL in Gujarat, on-demand basis.
The other project of 500 MW/1000 MWh is worth around ₹2,680 crore.
The development comes in the backdrop of the Indian government evaluating all green energy project contracts awarded to Gensol to ensure their timely completion and, if required, rebidding of the EPC contracts won from state-run firms, as reported by Mint on 24 April.
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The government’s move followed an interim order by India’s market regulator Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India) barring Gensol’s promoters–Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi–from trading in the securities market, and from holding any key managerial post in Gensol or any other listed company.
Sebi in its investigation had found that the founders of the cleantech company had siphoned off loans availed from state-run lenders Power Finance Corporation and Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (Ireda) for non-related and personal expenses. In its interim order, the market also said it the company forged documents to show that it was regular in servicing its debt towards the lenders.
The Securities & Exchanges Board of India (SEBI) which barred Gensol Engineering and its promoters—Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi—from the securities market, also noted the likely impact of the fund diversion and governance lapses on its EPC projects.
As of end of 2024, Gensol had a unexpected orderbook of around ₹7,000 crore.
“While the fund diversion primarily occurred in the context of electric vehicle (EV) purchases intended for leasing to a related party, the risk it creates is neither isolated nor contained,” the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) warned in the order.
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“The company (Gensol) has a substantial order book, comprising critical infrastructure contracts awarded by government and public sector entities in the renewable EPC space. These contracts are not just capital-intensive, they also require strict financial discipline, timely execution, and reputational credibility to retain project flow and institutional trust,” it added.
Gensol Engineering had made significant investment commitments in Gujarat. In another instance in January last year, it entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government of Gujarat to invest ₹2,000 crore in an electric vehicle manufacturing project at the Gujarat Global Summit 2024, which it said would generate around 1,500 jobs.
Gensol’s net profit for the nine months ended December 2024 was ₹78.31 crore, compared to ₹51.40 crore in the year ago period, according to its Q3 FY25 financial results filed with the exchanges. Its total revenue was ₹1,053.02 crore, 42% higher than ₹740.98 crore in the year ago period.
Queries mailed to the union power ministry, GUVNL and Gensol remained unanswered till press time.