State-owned Navaratna enterprise, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), has invited bids for the supply, installation, and commissioning of grid-connected solar rooftop PV projects of cumulative capacity 170 kW in Haryana.

The projects are to be developed at the following locations: Blue Jay Samalkha (20 kW), Skylark Panipat (50 kW), Parakeet Pipli (50 kW) and Kingfisher Ambala (50 kW) at Haryana. The projects will be awarded the reverse auction and May 10, 2019, is the last day for bid submission.

BHEL will supply solar modules for the projects. It would supply approximately 68 units for Blue Jay Samalkha, and 170 units for Skylark Panipat, Parakeet Pipli and Kingfisher Ambala each, while the supply of all the remaining balance-of systems, including string inverters, will fall under the developer’s scope of work. The scheduled date for the commissioning of the projects has been fixed for June 15, 2019.

The selected developer would also be responsible for the storage, safekeeping, transportation, loading, and unloading (including lifting and shifting) of BHEL supplied items at the site.

BHEL has been in the field of design, engineering, manufacturing, installation, and commissioning of solar power projects for over three decades, with a portfolio of more than 700 MW. According to the company, it is the only company in India that manufactures almost the entire range for solar equipment, including solar cells, solar modules, SCADA, inverters, power transformers, switchgear, and modules mounting structures with tracking systems.

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

Mercom had also reported about BHEL having bagged a 75 MW grid-connected solar PV project to develop in Gujarat Solar Park, located in Charanka village of Patan district. Under the contract, BHEL would be responsible for the engineering, procurement, and construction of both the projects which are slated to be developed at Gujarat Solar Park.

BHEL has also diversified into the electric mobility segment in India. Earlier this week, it signed a memorandum of understanding with Exicom for a strategic tie-up to address the requirements of the e-mobility market for wayside charging infrastructure.

Exicom will also help BHEL to set up EV charger manufacturing facilities for e-mobility businesses.

BHEL has also signed an agreement with the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), an autonomous body affiliated to the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, for cooperation on various projects related to e-mobility. The partnership is expected to generate synergies in implementing solutions for electric and trolley buses, EV chargers, battery, and charger testing.

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.