The Bihar Renewable Energy Development Agency (BREDA) has invited expressions of interest (EoI) to empanel installers for grid-connected solar projects of 2 MW capacity at various government buildings in the state under the capital expenditure (CAPEX) model. The successful bidder will also have to take care of the operation and maintenance activities of the project for five years.

The bids have been invited in two categories:

• Category A: To develop solar projects in the range of 2 kW to 10 kW
• Category B: To develop solar projects in the range of 11 kW to 100 kW.

The last date to submit the bids online is August 16, 2021, and bids will be opened on August 17.

Interested bidders will have to submit an amount of ₹200,000 (~$2,693) as an earnest money deposit. The successful bidder will have to furnish 10% of the contract price as the contract performance guarantee. The period of the validity of the contract performance guarantee will be 21 months from the date of intimation of the work order.

The project should be completed within 120 days from the date of the issuance of the work order. If the successful bidder fails to commission the allocated capacity within the stipulated time frame, the penalty clause will be imposed at the rate of 0.5% of the project cost if the project is delayed for a week, subject to a maximum of 10% of the total project value unless a time extension is allowed by the Director of BREDA.

To participate in the bidding process, the bidder should have executed a cumulative capacity of at least 350 kW of grid-connected rooftop solar projects in India before the bid submission deadline. The bidder’s minimum average annual turnover should be ₹20 million (~$269,377) for the best three financial years out of the last five financial years. The bidder should have a positive net worth at the close of the preceding financial year.

As per the tender document, the modules should be manufactured in India only. The rest of the components can be procured from any source. However, the items should meet the technical specification and standards mentioned in the EoI.

The total solar array capacity should not be less than the allocated capacity (kW) and should comprise solar crystalline modules of a minimum of 300 W and above wattage.

In October last year, the North Bihar Power Distribution Company invited a request for proposal to empanel vendors to install 20 MW of residential rooftop solar systems in the state. The scope of work included the design, supply, installation, testing, and commissioning of the solar systems.

Earlier, BREDA had floated an empanelment tender for rooftop solar projects for a capacity of 10 MW (Category-B) and 5 MW (Category-C) on government buildings in the state.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Tender Tracker, BREDA has so far floated 87 MW of rooftop solar tenders in Bihar.