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19 January 2004 - Mexico's state power company CFE has extended the bidding deadline for the Mexicali II thermo/solar project to June 30 to give companies more time to study changes to the bidding rules, according to a source reported by Business News Americas.
The previous deadline was January 21. The CFE has sold 19 packages of bidding rules for the project so far, mostly to international companies, the source said, without naming the companies. The project has already been delayed several times due to lower-than-expected power demand in Baja California, but this time the delay is designed to give interested companies more time to study the revised bidding rules.
The changes address how the winning bidder can sell excess power after meeting the requirements of its contract with the CFE. "The original bidding rules did not consider the option of having excess power in the plant and there were some companies that asked us to include clauses to consider this option," the source said.
The project will generate 216-264 MW combined cycle power and will have an optional 25 MW solar unit. The World Bank's Global Environmental Facility (GEF) will grant the contractor $50m through a trust fund for the solar unit. The GEF's funding for the solar unit should still be available despite the delay, the source said. The winning bidder will need to sign a gas supply contract for the plant in the US or locally in Mexico.
Bidding rules are now available through June 24 and the CFE will open economic bids on August 14, the source said. Commercial operations are scheduled to begin in 2007.
The CFE will buy Mexicali II power under the terms of a 25-year power purchase agreement. The cost of the plant, excluding the solar unit, is expected to be some $150m.
Mexicali II is in San Luis Rio Colorado in Sonora state.
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