The Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) has called for bids from contractors for setting up a 2 MW grid-connected solar photovoltaic project in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. The funds for the project will be provided by Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Bidders must provide a security deposit of ₹900,000 (~$12,426). The deadline for submitting bids is April 7, 2021.

The scope of work includes the design, engineering, manufacture, supply, erection, testing, and commissioning of the project. Selected bidders must also set up the associated high tension, overhead transmission lines, or underground cables up to the interconnection point at Vellalore village. They must also provide five years of operations and maintenance services for the project.

The declared capacity utilization factor of the project must not be less than 20%. The photovoltaic modules used in the project must have a capacity of 390W each. The project is expected to generate 1.75 MW of power in the first year per MW. The selected bidder must complete the project within 180 days from the date of the letter of award.

To be eligible to partake in the competitive bidding process, applicants must have executed similar work in the last five years for a cumulative project capacity of 5 MW. At least one of these projects must be 2 MW or larger.

Alternatively, they must have executed three grid-connected ground-mounted solar projects of 1 MW each. Bidders are also expected to have had an average annual turnover of ₹90 million (~$1.2 million) in the last three years.

Many city municipal corporations across the country are turning to renewable sources for their power needs. The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) recently approved a hybrid power project on the Middle Vaitarna Dam with a floating solar component of 80 MW capacity.

In October 2020, the Salem City Municipal Corporation in Tamil Nadu floated a tender to implement a 2.5 MW (DC) grid-interactive ground-mounted solar project in the Chettichavadi area of the district.

Earlier, Coimbatore Smart City issued a tender for replacing existing conventional streetlights with smart LED energy-efficient lamps. The scope of work of this tender also includes fixing accessories across the city of Coimbatore and the west and south core areas of Coimbatore Smart City.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Tender Tracker, Tamil Nadu has floated tenders for over 1.9 GW of solar power projects as of January 2021.