Bhutan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs, on behalf of the Department of Renewable Energy, has invited bids for the design, procurement, construction, and completion of the 17.38 MW Sephu solar photovoltaic (PV) power project.

The Sephu project comprises a main electrical system, including solar PV modules, inverters, cables, transformers, protection equipment, module mounting structures, site access, internal roads, buildings and civil works, drainage systems, lighting protection system, emergency generator, and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems.

The estimated completion time for planning, engineering, procurement, construction, testing, and commissioning of the solar PV plant in Sephu is 540 days.

The last date scheduled for submission of the bids is September 19, 2022.

The Bhutan government has applied for a loan from the Asian Development Bank toward the cost of the Renewable Energy for Climate Resilience Project, wherein part of the debt sought will be used to make payments for the Sephu solar project.

Bidders must have an average annual turnover of $21 million in the last five years. They must meet or exceed the cash flow requirement of $2.6 million.

Bidders must have experience in designing, engineering, testing, and commissioning ground-mounted, grid-connected solar PV power projects of at least 10 MW.

Bidders must also have experience handling and deploying ground-mounted PV projects with PV modules, foundations, mounting structures, grid-tied inverters, transformers, SCADA systems, and a monitoring system of at least 10 MW.

They must have participated in bids as a contractor, joint venture partner, or subcontractor in at least two contracts in the last five years, with the value of the bidder’s participation under each contract over $12.8 million.

Earlier this year, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Bhutan government ratified the Country Framework Agreement allowing EIB to commence operations in the Kingdom. The agreement was expected to help expand the existing EU economic support for the country, especially on climate action, climate resilience, and energy efficiency.

Last year, EIB and State Bank of India launched a new initiative of €100 million (~$99.26 million) for climate action and sustainability financing.

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