The Central Electronics Limited (CEL), a public-sector enterprise of the government of India (GoI), has floated an expression of interest (EoI) inviting engineering, procurement, construction (EPC) contractors to empanel for installing Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) on a turnkey basis in India using various battery technologies.

According to the CEL, the EoI is only for the empanelment of EPC contractors for executing BESS projects and not for the procurement of BESS.

Those who apply for the EoI should be experienced in the design, testing, integrating, installation, and commissioning of battery energy storage systems using various battery technologies.

The bid submission deadline is March 31, 2020.

The technical eligibility criteria require the EPC players to be BESS manufacturers or suppliers or integrators. The interested bidder should have a track record of having implemented at least 250 kWh of BESS integrated into a grid of 11 kV or above. The interested applicant should have executed 2,500 cycles of BESS using battery technology or chemistry. Financially, the EPC contractor must have a total turnover of at least ₹25 million (~$ 0.36 million) over the past three financial years.

The EoI is only for executing the BESS projects but not for acquiring the project. CEL will choose the winning bidder and use it to quote that in the BESS tender. The companies should submit a refundable deposit of 2% of the best quotation to the CEL. If the purchase order is awarded to the CEL for the tender, then the amount may be converted into the security deposit.

Recently, the Electricity Department of the Andaman & Nicobar administration has issued an empanelment tender to develop 5 MW of rooftop solar projects.

Earlier, the New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (NREDCAP) issued an empanelment tender for rooftop solar installers in the state. The tender covers rooftop solar projects with capacities ranging from 1 kW to 500 kW.

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