Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has issued a notice inviting tender for contractors to set up a 100 MW AC floating solar project for the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) at the Ramagundam, Peddapeli District, Telangana.

NTPC had issued the tender to develop 100 MW of grid-connected floating solar project at NTPC Ramagundam back in December 2018. In June 2019, BHEL had won the bid to develop the project for NTPC. Recently the company also called for vendors for the design and supply of a complete floatation platform on which the project will be constructed.

The scope of work includes the assembly of floatation devices as per the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) manual for which the training will be given to the bidder’s laborers. The design, anchoring, and mooring of the floating island will be done by BHEL. After forming the floating island, the installation of BHEL supplied string Combined boxes and cables on the floating island will be in the scope of the bidder.

The project is expected to cost ₹261 million (~$3.66 million), excluding goods and services tax (GST). Interested bidders must make an earnest money deposit (EMD) of ₹2.56 million (~$35,932). Half of this amount is to be paid before the start of work and the balance will be deducted from running bills at a rate of 10%.

The work is expected to be completed within five months if the work is to be divided between the L1 bidder (lowest quoted tariff) and the L2 bidder (second-lowest tariff quoted). If the L1 bidder is to execute the entire project, then the work must be completed within six months from the date of placement of the order or the handing over of the site. The deadline for the submission of bids is February 14, 2020.

To be eligible to take part in the competitive bidding process, applicants must have executed one similar project worth over ₹50 million (~$701,806), two similar projects valued over ₹30 million (~$421,084) each, or three such projects worth at least ₹20 million (~$280,723) each in the last ten years. They are also expected to have had an average annual turnover amounting to at least 30% of the total cost of the work undertaken, that is ₹46.9 million (~$658,294) in the last three year.

Floating solar projects have become an attractive option for agencies in regions where land accessibility for large-scale solar projects poses a threat to the expansion of solar.

Previously, BHEL issued a tender for conducting a detailed survey for a proposed 22 MW floating solar project in Kerala. The project was to be installed at Rajiv Gandhi Combined Cycle Power Project at Kayamkulam. The estimated cost of the project was about ₹830,000 (~$11,569).

Earlier, Mercom reported that BHEL issued a tender for the design and supply of a solar floatation platform of 25 MW capacity for a floating solar project at the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC)’s site in Simhadri, Andhra Pradesh.