National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) has issued a request for proposal (RfP) for installing grid-connected rooftop solar projects of 995 kW at NALCO’s refinery complex in Damanjodi and 100 kW at NALCO’s port facility in Vishakhapatnam.

The scope of work includes identification and site survey of rooftops, design, engineering, manufacture, supply, storage, civil work, erection, testing, and commissioning of the project. The developer will also be responsible for obtaining no-objection certificates from the respective distribution companies for grid connectivity. The selected developer will have to take care of the project’s operation and maintenance (O&M) for five years after commissioning the project.

The last day to submit the bids is April 5, 2022. The bids will be opened the next day.

The maximum ceiling price to quote is ₹35,886 (~$470)/kW, excluding GST. The price includes the cost of solar panels, inverters, the balance of system, mounting structure, earthing, lightning arrester, civil works, installation and commissioning, operation, and maintenance (O&M), transportation, insurance, etc. If bidders quote above ₹35,886 (~$470)/ kW exclusive of GST, their offer will not be evaluated further.

Bidders must submit ₹350,000 (~$4,580) as an earnest money deposit. Successful bidders must also furnish 3% of the contract value as a performance bank guarantee (PBG) within 14 days from the date of issue of work.

Successful bidders must also furnish a security deposit calculated at 3% of the contract value. This may be deposited initially at 2.50% within 21 days of the issue of the work order. The balance will be recovered in installments by deducting 3% of the gross value of each running account bill until the total security deposit is collected.

In case the successful bidders fail to submit the security deposit within 21 days, the security deposit amount along with a simple interest calculated at 8% per annum as penalty will be charged from the date of issue of work order till the date of submission of security deposit.

The project should be commissioned within nine months from the effective date. Failing to commission the project will entail a fine of 0.5% of project cost per week, provided that the total amount of compensation for delay to be paid under this condition shall not exceed 5% of the total project cost.

If the developer fails to maintain a minimum cumulative utilization factor of 15% during the O&M period, NALCO will encash the performance bank guarantee amount submitted by the developer.

The modules used in the project must be made in India and should have a minimum wattage of 300W.

According to Mercom’s India Solar tender Tracker, 57 MW and 85 MW of rooftop solar projects have been tendered by various agencies in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, respectively. NALCO has floated tenders for 71 MW of solar projects to date.