The Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture between the public-sector units of the Ministry of Power and the government of India, has floated a tender for 160 MW of solar projects to be developed near pooling substations across the state of Maharashtra.

The scope of work includes the design, engineering, supply, construction, erection, testing and commissioning of the solar projects. The successful bidder will also provide operation and maintenance services for the useful life of the project.

In 2017, EESL had issued another tender for 200 MW of solar projects to be developed near pooling substations in Maharashtra. When contacted, an EESL official said, “The 200 MW of solar PV projects have been awarded, hence we are issuing the new tender.”

“The project size will range from 250 kW to 2 MW at a single location. A single bidder must bid for a minimum of 20 MW. The tender document will be out soon, we have issued a press advertisement as of now,” added the EESL official.

This is the second tender that has been released in response to an advisory issued by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) in July 2017 that addressed the utilization of empty land near pooling substations to allow for better usage of the transmission infrastructure.

In June 2017, EESL issued a tender for the procurement of 300 MW of solar modules to power 20,000 agricultural pump sets in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. EESL planned to set up 15 kW solar capacity for each pump set.

In an exclusive interview with Mercom, Saurabh Kumar, Managing Director of EESL, underlined the different ways in which this government organization has been on the forefront of implementing clean energy initiatives in the country.

Image credit: Tata Power