Written by PPL Newsroom• October 6, 2026• 11:44 am• Business & Sustainability

Mahanadi Coalfields invites bids for rooftop solar on 15 buildings at Jagannath mine

The Coal India subsidiary is seeking 1,086 kW of rooftop solar in Odisha, adding to its slow but steady shift towards renewable power.

Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL), a Coal India subsidiary, has invited bids for grid-connected rooftop solar plants on 15 non-residential buildings at the Jagannath Open Cast Project in Odisha, according to Mercom India. The tender was e-published on 5 October 2026, and bids close on 21 October. It shows a coal producer putting solar panels on its own buildings.

What the tender covers

The combined capacity is 1,086 kW, or about 1.09 MW, according to SolarQuarter. The panels will go on non-residential buildings of Jagannath OCP. The tender was issued by a Staff Officer (E&M) of the Jagannath Area. This is a small, site-level project, not a utility-scale solar farm.

The timetable is short. Bidders can seek online clarifications until 14 October. The bid deadline is 21 October at 17:00 hours, and technical bids will be opened on 23 October. The opening date for price bids will be announced separately. The successful bidder’s retained earnest money deposit will be adjusted against the performance security. The report does not give an estimated project cost.

A pattern of small and large solar steps

MCL has tendered rooftop solar before. In 2020 it sought 1.21 MW across administrative buildings. In 2022 it sought an aggregated 2.5 MWp at residential and non-residential buildings. In 2024 it released a tender for 1.5 MW. It has also moved to ground-mounted plants. In 2025 it floated a tender for 25 MW (AC) at Rampur Colliery and Samaleswari OCP in Jharsuguda district.

What this means for India

Coal India and its subsidiaries are under pressure to turn plans into installed capacity. Coal India’s sustainability report sets a target of 3,000 MW of solar by FY 2027-28 and 9.5 GW by 2030. One analysis puts installed renewable capacity at about 357 MW at the end of FY26. Rooftop projects like this one are modest in size. They show how mining companies can use buildings they already own to cut grid purchases, as the wider coal sector pursues its net-zero goals.

The larger picture

The tender sits within a broader corporate push. Coal India reported solar capital expenditure of ₹9.61 billion, which is 132% of its target for the first 10 months of FY26. The company has aimed to reach net-zero by installing 3 GW of solar capacity by FY28. The audit watchdog had earlier flagged slow progress. The Comptroller and Auditor General noted that the company and its seven subsidiaries had achieved only 4.08% of the targeted 3 GW by the end of 2024.

The next milestone is the technical bid opening on 23 October. After that, MCL will announce the price bid opening date. The tender documents will show which firms are competing and what they offer.