Jharkhand Renewable Energy Development Agency (JREDA) has tendered 5 MW of rooftop solar to be set up on government buildings across the state of Jharkhand. The projects will be set up on a turnkey basis and the scope of work includes; design, manufacturing, testing, supply, installation and commissioning of grid-connected rooftop solar PV projects of different capacities aggregating 5,000 kW. The scope of work also includes a comprehensive maintenance contract (CMC) lasting five years. The bid-submission deadline is November 29, 2016.

The CMC includes, servicing and replacement guarantee for parts and components for five years from the date of installation. The CMC period will begin on the date of actual commissioning of grid-connected rooftop SPV project.

The JREDA will fund the installation through funds received from the Government of India and the Government of Jharkhand. The nodal agency will also hold a pre-bid meeting with bidders to discuss issues concerning them and provide clarifications, on November 17, 2016.

The JREDA has mandated a project completion timeframe of four months for rooftop projects of 50 kW capacity, and timeframe of six months for rooftop projects of capacity greater than 50 kW. The JREDA, has also stated that the capacity to be developed is tentative and subject to increase or decrease depending on the actual requirement at the time of placing order and availability of resources.

To ensure the effectiveness of the rooftop program in the state, JREDA has mandated successful bidders to submit a performance guarantee amounting to 10 percent of the project value in the form of bank guarantee valid for a five-year period. The JREDA will make available the 100 percent due payment to the developer within three months of satisfactory completion of the project.

An official at JREDA told Mercom that to keep complacency at bay, the JREDA has mandated that all bidders should be Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) approved. The official also said that the state is targeting rooftop installation of 20 MW, but, tenders to install close to 15 MW of rooftop for commercial purposes have been stalled, as the JREDA wants to see the outcome of the current tender and then proceed. In the past, power purchase agreements (PPAs) for projects totaling 1.2 GW had not been signed due to differences between distribution companies (DISCOMs) and developers. The state hasn’t witnessed even a MW of installation in the past six months, hence JREDA’s push for bank guarantees and MNRE approved bidders.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Project Tracker, lowest discovered rooftop tariff in Jharkhand was Rs. 5.47 (~$0.0807)/kWh, in a recently held Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) auction.