State-owned Navaratna enterprise, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), has invited bids from interested vendors for the supply of solar PV modules aggregating 71.177 MW for the development of its solar projects. This would comprise 72 cells of the multi 5BB specification.

The last date for bid submission is May 21, 2019, and the techno-commercial bids will open on the same date. A pre-bid meeting will be held on May 13, 2019.

Just a few days ago, BHEL invited bids for the supply, installation, and commissioning of grid-connected solar rooftop PV projects of cumulative capacity 170 kW in Haryana.

Before this, BHEL had also bagged orders worth ₹1.25 billion (~$0.019 billion) for the development of two solar photovoltaic power projects in Gujarat.

Earlier, it had issued operation & maintenance (O&M) tenders for two solar projects of 10 MW each in West Bengal.

It had also issued a tender for the procurement of 1,500 metric tons of module mounting structure columns for setting up 129 MW of solar power projects in Telangana.

It may be added here that the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has recently issued a series of guidelines for conducting tests on solar photovoltaic (SPV) modules (crystalline and thin film, including bifacial type), as was reported by Mercom.

The tests were to be conducted by test labs for compulsory registration with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for the implementation of the Solar Photovoltaics Systems, Devices and Component Goods Order 2017.

It also issued guidelines to facilitate labs and manufacturers for the approval of the ‘product family’; all models which were included in the family have a common design, construction, parts, or assemblies important to ensure conformity with applicable requirements.

Soumik is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Prior to joining Mercom, Soumik was a correspondent for UNI, New Delhi covering the Northeast region for seven years. He has also worked as an Asia Correspondent for Washington DC-based Hundred Reporters. He has contributed as a freelancer to several national and international digital publications with a focus on data-based investigative stories on environmental corruption, hydro power projects, energy transition and the circular economy. Soumik is an Economics graduate from Scottish Church College, Calcutta University.