Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam (GUVNL) has invited bids to set up pilot projects of 250 MW/500 MWh standalone battery energy storage systems (BESS) in Gujarat under tariff-based global competitive bidding (Phase III).

The last day to submit the bids is April 22, 2024. Bids will be opened on May 1.

Bidders must submit a bid processing fee of ₹1.5 million (~$18,093) and an earnest money deposit of ₹740,000 (~$8,926)/ MW of the quoted capacity.

Selected bidders must furnish ₹1.85 million (~$22,315)/ MW as a performance bank guarantee before signing the battery energy storage purchase agreement (BESPA).

The projects will be developed under a build, own, and operate model. GUVNL seeks to utilize energy storage systems on an on-demand basis that are suited to the requirements of the state distribution companies during peak and off-peak hours.

The project must be completed within 18 months from the effective date of BESPA.

The minimum bid size must be 140 MWh (70 MWh x 2 hours).

The BESS will be charged by drawing power from the Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation network per the dispatch instructions issued by the state load despatch center. Charging and discharging of the system will be under the scope of GUVNL.

The developer must maintain the transmission system up to the interconnection point. They must also bear the entire construction cost of the infrastructure from the project up to the interconnection point.

The power rating of the project capacity of 500 MWh (250 MW x 2 hours) BESS will be 250 MW, i.e., the maximum value of the active output and input power at the delivery point. The system’s energy rating of 500 MWh will be the dispatchable capacity measured at the metering point.

The BESS developer must guarantee a minimum system availability of 95% annually.

Developers should adopt commercially established and operational technologies to minimize technology risks and comply with the codes and standards specified in the guidelines.

The net worth of the bidders should be equal to or greater than ₹7.4 million (~$89,262)/MW of the quoted capacity as of the last date of the previous financial year or seven days before the bid submission deadline.

Any bidder from a country that shares a land border with India will be eligible to bid if registered with the competent authority.

Recently, Gensol Engineering and IndiGrid 2 (IndiGrid) won GUVNL’s auction to set up pilot projects of 250 MW/500 MWh standalone BESS in Gujarat under tariff-based global competitive bidding (Phase II) at record low tariffs.

In August 2022, GUVNL invited bids to set up pilot projects of 1 GWh standalone battery energy storage systems in Gujarat.