Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has invited bids to set up 30 MW of grid-connected floating solar projects on reservoirs of the Damodar Valley Corporation’s (DVC) thermal power projects at Koderma (6 MW), Mejia (14 MW), and Raghunathpur (10 MW) thermal power stations in Jharkhand and West Bengal.

The successful bidder will have to take care of the operation and maintenance activities of the project for ten years.

The last date to submit the bids is August 1, 2022. Bids will be opened on the same day.

Bidders will have to submit an amount equivalent to ₹40.2 million (~$515,601) as an earnest money deposit.

The floating solar projects must be commissioned within 12 months of the award’s notification.

The solar modules and cells for the project must be supplied through ‘Class I local suppliers’ only. A Class-I local supplier’ means a supplier or a service provider whose goods, services, or works offered for procurement, have local content equal to or more than 50%.

The cells and modules to be used for the project should be sourced only from the models and manufacturers included in the List-I of the Approved List of Modules and Manufacturers (ALMM) order issued by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).

Bidding is allowed under two routes.

Under Route-I, bidders should have experience in engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) execution of ground-mounted solar projects on a turnkey basis, including the design, supply, installation, and commissioning of grid-connected solar power projects of cumulative capacity not less than 15 MW in the last seven financial years. The projects must have been in operation for at least six months before the last date of bid submission.

Bidders should have experience in EPC execution of ground-mounted solar projects on a turnkey basis of at least two grid-connected solar projects having an individual capacity of 3 MW or above in the last seven years. The projects must have been in operation for at least six  months before the last date of bid submission.

Under Route-II, bidders should have executed ground-mounted solar projects as a developer of cumulative capacity not less than 15 MW in the last seven years as of the last date of bid submission. The projects must have been in operation for at least six months before the last date of bid submission.

Bidders should have executed ground-mounted solar projects as a developer of at least two grid-connected solar projects having an individual capacity of 3 MW or above in the last seven years.

Bidders must have a minimum average annual turnover of ₹804.3 million (~$10.32 million) in the last three financial years. Their net worth during the last financial year should be positive.

Bidders should have a minimum working capital of ₹502.7 million (~$6.45 million) per the last audited financial statement. They should confirm the availability of a line of credit of ₹502.7 million (~$6.45 million) to meet the working capital requirement of the project.

In February this year, SECI issued a global engineering, procurement, and construction tender to install a 100 MW (AC) floating solar project at Getalsud Dam in Ranchi, Jharkhand.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Tender Tracker, SECI has issued tenders for 704 MW of floating solar capacity to date.