The Central Electronics Limited (CEL) has invited bids for the supply of 300,000 multicrystalline solar cells of at least 4.57 Wp.

The last date for the submission of bids is October 12, 2020, and the opening of bids will also take place on the same date.

Interested bidders will have to submit an amount of ₹280,000 (~$3,792) as the earnest money deposit (EMD). Micro and small enterprise vendors are exempted from paying the EMD amount.

The dimensions of the multicrystalline solar cells should be 156.75 x 156.75 mm +/-0.25 mm or 157 x 157 mm +/-0.25 mm. The thickness of the cells should be 200+-20 microns. The length of the 4.57 Wp solar cells should be five busbars.

All the cells should be free from chipping, micro-cracks, pinholes, and other cracks. There should also be no color variation between the cells.

Only domestic manufacturers complying with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s (MNRE) guidelines regarding the domestic content requirements (DCR) are eligible to participate in the competitive bidding process. The supplier of solar cells should confirm that the modules manufactured using the supplier’s cells conform to the quality standards: IEC 61215/IS 14286, IEC 61730, and EC 62804.

As per the tender document, the vendor should supply a sample lot of a minimum of 200 cells meeting the required specifications. The sample cells will be checked at CEL, and if the quality control department at CEL approves the sample lot, then the vendor will become the approved supplier of solar cells.

The modules should be manufactured using accepted cells and with glass having optical loss of approximately 2% and transmittance of 91%. The total power produced by the module should be 2% less than the arithmetic summation of the power of all individual cells used in it.

Recently, CEL invited bids for the supply of 15 MWp of multicrystalline solar PV modules. The modules are to be supplied to various locations in Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh.

In June this year, CEL invited bids for the supply of two million multicrystalline passivated emitter and rear contact (PERC) solar cells. The tender was open to domestic as well as international suppliers.

Earlier, CEL had floated a tender for the supply of 300,000 domestically manufactured multicrystalline solar cells with a wattage of 4.52 Wp.