Unión Eléctrica de Cuba (UNE), a company operating through the Ministry of Energy and Mines, has invited bids to select developers for 60 MW of solar projects in the country on a build, own, and operate basis.

The brief scope of work includes the project’s design, financing, construction, installation, commissioning, and operation for the power purchase agreement period.

The last date to submit the bids is July 20, 2023. Bids will be opened the following day.

The project is being executed under Program-06 of the International Solar Alliance (ISA).

ISA has endorsed NTPC as the project management consultant (PMC) for implementing solar power projects in ISA member countries. As an ISA member country, Cuba has taken the services of NTPC as PMC to implement 60 MW of solar power projects.

Last year, NTPC was appointed as the PMC for 900 MW of solar projects to be developed at 175 locations across 15 provinces in Cuba under Program-6 of the ISA.

The successful bidder will be required to pay NTPC $54,000/MW of the awarded capacity and $9,000/MW of the awarded capacity to ISA as a development fee.

The projects have been divided into several blocks. The locality of Placetas, where 25 MW of solar projects are to be developed, comes under Block-1. Cifuentes and Santa Clara come under Block-2, where 20 MW of solar projects will be developed. Sagua and Corralillo come under Block-3, where 15 MW of solar projects will be developed.

There are no technical and financial qualifying requirements for the tender.

As part of the project, the solar power generator will execute a PPA with UNE, valid for 25 years from the project’s commercial operation date. The generator will dismantle the project, and the land will be restored to its original condition after completion of the PPA period.

Interconnection at 13.8 kV or 34.5 kV level is envisaged for the projects, with most of them being connected to the distribution level line running along the boundary of the site (about 100 meters), with only one site (Quemado Hilario) needing lines of 2 kilometers to the nearest substation or higher capacity line.

The generator will procure all infrastructure until the interconnection point as part of the project cost. The generator will bear the entire transmission cost from the project up to the interconnection point.

The solar modules should be polycrystalline or monocrystalline. The capacity of each of the solar modules should be at least 440 Wp power rating, which has been in production for at least six months before the supply of modules for the project.

In July Last year, NTPC had issued a request for qualification to select developers to set up 1,150 MW grid-connected solar power projects across 175 locations and 150 MW/150 MWh battery energy storage systems at three locations in Cuba.