Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has floated a tender for supplying 2,860,000 monocrystalline passivated emitter and rear contact (PERC) solar cells.

The last date to submit the bids is September 15, 2022. Bids will be opened on the same day.

The solar cell should be five busbars in length and 158.75 ± 0.5 x 158.75 ± 0.5 mm in dimension. They must have a thickness of 200 ± 20 microns with a wattage of ≥5.54Wp.

The cells shall be of the ‘A’ category without visual defects, edge chips,  cracks, or deep scratches. There should be no printing defects or misalignment of busbars on either surface.

The cells must have precise printing and superior silver contacts for ease of automatic soldering. There should be no print shift, finger knots, and other printing defects of more than 0.5 mm on width and 3.0 mm on length. They should not have bus bar or grid line interruptions, fingerprint interruptions, finger breaks, or stains or smudges on either surface.

Only original solar cell manufacturers or authorized channel partners can submit the bids. Original equipment manufacturers should have a minimum of two million per annum production capacity for mono PERC cells. They should have supplied mono PERC cells of a minimum of 700,000 units to reputed solar module manufacturers in the last three years.

The minimum average annual financial turnover of the bidders during the last three years must be ₹75 million (~$939,843). Bidders must have a positive net worth in the last three financial years. They must also present a solvency certificate for ₹70 million (~$877,187) from a reputed bank.

Micro and small enterprise (MSE) vendors quoting within the lowest price band (L1) + 15% will be allowed to supply 25% of the requirement subject to the acceptance of the L1 price. If the L1 bidder is not an MSE, all the MSE vendors who quote within L1 + 15% will be allowed to match the L1 price. The contract will be awarded to the MSE vendor, who matches the price quoted by the L1 bidder.

BHEL had floated two tenders for mono PERC solar modules for 4.16 MW of solar projects at two thermal power plants in Uttar Pradesh. The first tender was for supplying mono PERC solar modules of 500 W output for a 2.6 MW solar project at the thermal power plant at Obra in the Sonabhadra district of Uttar Pradesh. The second tender was for the supply of mono PERC solar modules of 500 W output for a 1.56 MW solar project at the Jawaharpur Super Thermal Power Station in the Etah district of Uttar Pradesh.

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