Coal Lignite Urja Vikas, a joint venture company of Coal India (CIL) and National Lignite Corporation (NLC), issued a tender to set up a 40MW ground-mounted grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) power project for South Eastern Coalfields (SECL) at Bishrampur and Bhatgaon in Surajpur District, Chhattisgarh.

The tender was issued under the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) mode, coupled with ten years of operations and maintenance (O&M). The last date for submitting bids is October 15, 2021. Bids will be opened on the same day.

Prospective bidders must pay ₹10,000 (~$134.80) towards the tender document cost. The schedule for commissioning the solar power projects is nine months from the letter of award (LoA).

Scope of work

The scope of works includes site study, site development, design, engineering, manufacturing, inspection at supplier’s works, supply, insurance, transport, storage, erection, installation, testing, and commissioning with associated power evacuation system. The scope includes securing grid connectivity approval from the Chhattisgarh state electricity authorities, bay extensions, external transmission lines, metering arrangements, and performance assessment.

The winning bidder must provide O&M for ten years, including a first-year warranty period O&M for the total 40 MW capacity at Bishrampur and Bhatgaon locations on a lumpsum turnkey basis.

Eligibility Criteria

The bidder must be a solar developer or an EPC player who has executed supply, installation, and commissioning of grid-connected solar PV power plants with a cumulative installed capacity of 20 MW or above in the last seven years as of the original scheduled tender opening date. Of these, at least one plant should have been of 10 MW capacity or above and should be successfully operational for at least six months as on the scheduled date of tender opening.

The bidder can also collaborate with a firm, and together they must fully meet the qualifying requirements stipulated above.

The bidder can also be a leader of a consortium consisting of not more than three firms, and together they must meet the qualifying requirements stipulated above. The members of the consortium must furnish a backup bank guarantee.

The bidder can also be a JV, and partners of the JV must meet the qualifying requirements. The partner of the JV based on whom the JV gets qualified must have a minimum of 26% equity in the company.

The bidder or the lead member of the consortium or major partner of the JV must have a positive net worth as per the latest audited financial statements. If the bidder participates along with a collaborator, the bidder must have a positive net worth as per the latest audited financial statements.

The average annual turnover of the bidder, or the combined average annual turnover of the bidder and collaborator, of the consortium partners and all the promoters of the JV company must not be less than ₹480 million in the last three financial years.

Last month, Mahanadi Coalfields, a subsidiary of CIL, invited bids for the EPC of a 50 MW grid-connected solar power project with evacuation infrastructure in Odisha.

Mahanadi Coalfields also invited bids for O&M of a 2 MW solar project at its Burla headquarters in Sambalpur district of Odisha for two years.

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Rahul is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Before entering the world of renewables, Rahul was head of the Gujarat bureau for The Quint. He has also worked for DNA Ahmedabad and Ahmedabad Mirror. Hailing from a banking and finance background, Rahul has also worked for JP Morgan Chase and State Bank of India. More articles from Rahul Nair.