Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has invited bids from solar module manufacturers to supply multicrystalline solar modules to be used in the 6.5 MW Nalanda rooftop solar project in Bihar.

The last date for the submission of bids is August 24, 2021. Bids will be opened on the same day.

To participate in the competitive bidding process, bidders must have a minimum average annual turnover of ₹45 million (~$605,575) in the last three financial years.

The successful bidder has to provide insurance for the solar module power output warranty that could cover the module power output warranty in case of insolvency of the solar module manufacturer. The successful bidder can also submit a bank guarantee of 10% of the contract value if the bidder cannot provide insurance for solar modules.

The selected bidder is expected to supply 72-cell multicrystalline solar modules in a 12*6 configuration or 144-cell (half-cut) in a 24*6 configuration. The wattage output of the modules should be over 325 Wp or in the 5 W band only.

The modules should be certified by the Bureau of Indian Standards.

The minimum efficiency of modules should be 16.5%, and modules must perform satisfactorily with temperatures between -10° C and 85° C and should withstand gusts up to 140 kilometers/hour on the panel’s surface.

According to the tender document, the solar modules should have a warranty of a minimum of ten years, and the module degradation should not be less than 90% at the end of ten years and 80% at the end of 25 years.

The glass used for modules should be high transmission, low iron, toughened with a minimum thickness of 3.2 mm, and bending less than 0.3%. The back sheet used in the crystalline silicon-based modules must be 300 microns with a water vapor transmission rate of less than 2 g/m2 daily.

In April 2021, BHEL invited bids for 750 MW of monocrystalline silicon modules in the 500 MW Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Limited (RUMSL) solar park at Neemuch in Madhya Pradesh.

Mercom had earlier reported that BHEL invited bids to supply 18,000 monocrystalline passivated emitter and rear cell (PERC) cells, 5BB (busbars) of 5.62 W output, and 18,000 multicrystalline solar cells, 5BB of 4.72 W output.

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