The Hubballi-Dharwad Smart City Limited (HDSCL) has invited bids for the development of nearly 340 kW of grid-connected rooftop solar PV projects for selected buildings in different locations owned by Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC).

The scope of work includes the design, supply, installation, testing, and commissioning of ~340 kW of rooftop solar projects with a discount over the retail tariff on net metering and gross metering basis on 11 HDMC buildings. The contract will also include operation & maintenance (O&M) for 25 years.

The last date for the submission of bids is June 17, 2020, and the pre-bid meeting will take place on June 02, 2020. Interested bidders will have to submit an amount of ₹550,000 (~$7314.7) as the earnest money deposit (EMD).

To take part in the bidding process, the bidder should be a single business entity, government-owned entity, or a consortium. The number of members in a consortium should be limited to two. The bidder can also form an appropriate special purpose vehicle (SPV) to execute the project.

Regarding the technical criteria, the bidder should have designed, supplied, and commissioned grid-connected solar power projects of a cumulative installed capacity of at least 350 kW in the last three years. Out of the total, 150 kW should be grid-connected rooftop solar projects. Each rooftop solar project should be at least 20 kW and should have been operational for a year.

Concerning the financial criteria, the net worth of the bidder should be at least ₹6 million (~$79,797) for the last financial year, and the company should be a profit-making company during the last three financial years.

Mercom recently reported that Karnataka had emerged as the best state in India for rooftop solar projects with a score of 78.8 and a rating of A++. Telangana scored 72.2, followed by Gujarat, which scored 67.9, and 66.1 was assigned to Andhra Pradesh.

Earlier, Karnataka’s Tumakuru Smart City Limited (TSCL) had invited bids for 1.86 MW of grid-interactive rooftop solar projects based under RESCO (renewable energy service company) model at various government buildings in the city.

Then, last month Jhansi Smart City Limited invited bids for hybrid rooftop solar power projects with zero export devices on government buildings and offices in Jhansi under the CAPEX (capital expenditure) model.