The government-owned electronics manufacturer and supplier, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has issued a request for quotation (RfQ) for the procurement of 798,430 monocrystalline silicon solar cells.

The government undertaking has mandated that these solar cells have to be manufactured in India.

BEL is looking to procure cells of ≥ 4.545 Wp. The thickness of these cells should be 180 microns, and the dimensions should be 157 X 157 (±0.25mm). Vendors will have to give their quote for A-category solar cells and also submit technical compliance statements for the same.

For this tender, the prospective bidders are expected to provide test certificates that indicate the power output, voltage, current, fill factor, and temperature coefficient of the cells. According to the tender documents, BEL will carry out quality inspection of the cells as well. Further, BEL has also set specific guidelines for packaging the solar cells.

Bidders will be selected based on the lowest cumulative cost quoted for the solar cells.

The last date for the submission of bids is October 10, 2019.

Recently, Rajasthan Electronics and Instruments Limited (REIL), another government-owned manufacturer of electronic products, issued three separate notices inviting tenders for rate contracts for the procurement of 4.5 W solar cells, 4.6 W solar cells, and module mounting structures.

In August 2019, Central Electronics Limited had issued a tender to procure 100,000 chip solar cells of 2.97 W capacity from domestic manufacturers.

According to solar module manufacturers, monocrystalline products can lead to higher yields from solar energy projects. In an in-depth report, Mercom analyzed if the Indian solar market is ready to transition to mono PERC cell technology. The consensus in the solar industry is that it is gradually shifting towards monocrystalline cell technology from the more common multi-crystalline cells and modules.