NLC India has invited bids to develop 200 MW of the interstate transmission system (ISTS)-connected solar projects on a pan-India basis.

The project must be completed within 15 months from the date of the letter of award. The successful bidder must undertake the operation and maintenance of the project for three years.

The last date to submit the bids is May 9, 2023. Bids will be opened on the same day.

Bidders must submit ₹54.7 million (~$667,724) as bid security.

Bidders should have executed contracts of supply, installation, and commissioning of grid-connected solar power projects of cumulative installed capacity of 10 MW or above within the last seven years.

Out of the total capacity, at least one project should have been of 5 MW capacity or above in a single location, which should be in successful operation for at least six months as of the bid opening date.

Alternatively, the bidder should have executed in the last ten years an industrial project either as a developer or as an EPC contractor in power, solar power, steel, oil, gas, petrochemicals, fertilizer industry, or any other infrastructural project worth at least ₹2.2 billion (~$26.73 million).

Bidders should have executed at least one electrical substation of 33 kV or above voltage level, consisting of equipment such as 33 kV or above voltage level circuit breakers and power transformers, either as a developer or as an EPC contractor, which should have been in successful operation for at least one year before the bid opening date.

They should have an average annual turnover of ₹2.2 billion (~$26.73 million) for the last three financial years. They must also have a positive net worth as per the latest audited financial statement.

Last October, NLC India invited bids to set up a 300 MW grid-connected solar power project in Rajasthan.

Solar tenders floated by various agencies in India rose 43% quarter-over-quarter to 13.8 GW in the first quarter of 2023, according to Mercom India Research. The preceding quarter (Q4 2022) saw tenders worth 9.7 GW.

Subscribe to Mercom’s India Solar Tender Tracker to stay on top of tender activity in real-time.