The Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) has invited bids for 7.5 MW of rooftop solar projects on various government buildings in the union territory of Andaman.

Besides the design, supply, construction, erection, testing, and commissioning of the projects, the successful bidders will also have to take care of the operation and maintenance services for ten years.

The last date for the submission of bids is October 20, 2020, and the pre-bid meeting will take place on September 29, 2020.

The tender has been divided into two lots. Lot 1 covers northern Andaman with a cumulative capacity of 2.68 MW, and Lot 2 covers middle Andaman with a total capacity of 4.7 MW.

Interested bidders will have to submit an amount of ₹3.3 million (~$44,860) for Lot 1 and ₹5.8 million (~$78,845) for Lot 2 as the earnest money deposit (EMD).

As per the tender document, preference will be given to micro and small enterprises (MSEs), with 25% of the total quantity of the tender being earmarked for MSEs. Out of the 25% target of annual procurement from MSEs, 4% and 3% will be reserved for procurement from MSEs owned by SC/ST entrepreneurs and women entrepreneurs.

To take part in the bidding process, the bidder should be three years old as on the date of the publication of the tender. To participate in Lot 1, the bidder should have completed one work order of 2.1 MW or two work orders of 1.3 MW each, or three work orders of 1 MW each.

For participation in Lot 2, the bidder should have completed one work order of 3.8 MW, or two of 2.3 MW each, or three work orders of at least 1.9 MW each. The bidder should submit a satisfactory performance record of at least a 50 kW project in the last six months.

Regarding the financial criteria, the average annual turnover of the bidder for participating in Lot 1 should be ₹49.6 million (~$674,262) and ₹88 million (~$1.19 million) for Lot 2 in the previous three financial years.

The bidder should be profitable in any two out of the last three financial years. The net worth of the bidders on the last day of the preceding financial year should not be less than 100% of the paid-up share capital.

The bidder will have to procure 100% of solar modules and 40% of other components like inverters and others from domestic manufacturers only. Only those bidders who comply with the minimum local content requirement will be allowed to participate in the bidding process.

In August this year, EESL issued a tender for 279 MW of solar projects across Maharashtra. The project will be partially funded through the corpus India has received from KFW, the German state-owned development bank.

Earlier, EESL had invited bids to empanel consultants for a detailed project report for solar power projects in West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and northeastern states of India.

Previously, Mercom had reported that EESL had issued a tender for 20 MW of grid-connected rooftop solar power projects. The rooftop projects will be installed atop various buildings in Andhra Pradesh.