The Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Limited (GSECL) has invited bids for the design, engineering, erection, construction, installation, and commissioning of 35 MW of grid-connected solar project with 57 MWh of battery energy storage system (BESS) at its Kutch Lignite Thermal Power Station Pandhro site in Kutch district of Gujarat.

The successful bidder will also have to take care of the project operations and maintenance activities for 12 years.

The last date to submit the bids online is September 29, 2021, and bids will be opened on October 6. The pre-bid meeting will be held on September 18.

The project’s estimated cost is ₹2.56 billion (~$35.05 million), and interested bidders will have to submit ₹25 million (~$342,269) as an earnest money deposit.

The successful bidder will have to furnish 10% of the contract value security deposit cum performance bank guarantee within seven days from the date of the issuance of the Letter of Intent.

The bidder should have designed, supplied, supervised, and commissioned solar power projects of a cumulative installed capacity of 100 MW (minimum installed capacity of 1 MW) in India on or after April 01, 2014.

Also, the bidder should have installed and commissioned at least one project of 30 MW or higher capacity or at least two projects of 20 MW each or higher capacity, or at least three power projects of 15 MW each or higher capacity.

Additionally, the bidder must have successfully executed the design, engineering, procurement, testing, and commissioning of at least three grid-connected BESS projects, each having an individual capacity of 5 MW/MWh in India or outside India.

The reference project should have been in successful operation for 12 months for grid-connected solar power projects and six months for BESS projects before the bid opening date.

The cumulative turnover of the bidder during the last three financial years should be ₹2.3 billion (~$31.49 million), and the net worth of the bidder during the last financial year should be positive.

As per the tender documents, the solar modules to be employed should be of 72-cell configuration with related power of module being at least 300 Wp. The modules should have a maximum tolerance of up to +3%. No negative tolerance in the rated capacity of solar modules will be allowed. The modules should have a minimum efficiency of 15% for crystalline with a minimum fill factor of 0.75.

Last month, GSECL invited bids for 4.5 MW of grid-connected solar projects. A 2.5 MW solar project will be developed at Gandhinagar thermal power station and a 2 MW solar project at Sikka thermal power station in the Jamnagar district.

Earlier, GSECL had invited bids for the design, engineering, supply, installation, and commissioning of 224 MW of grid-connected solar projects ranging from 10 MW to 55 MW at various substations of the Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Tender Tracker, GSECL has so far floated tenders for 1.6 GW of solar projects.