The Rangiya Division, North East Frontier Railway, has invited bids for installing 7,835 kW grid-connected rooftop solar power systems at residential buildings.

The last date for the submission of bids is December 13, 2024.

The scope of work involves the supply, design, installation, testing, and commissioning of the  rooftop solar systems of capacities ranging from 3 kW to 10 kW.

The systems must use monocrystalline solar panels and include inverters with remote monitoring capabilities. The contract also covers five years of annual maintenance.

The project’s estimated value is ₹355.1 million (~$4.2 million). The project must be completed within six months.

Bidders must pay an earnest money deposit of ₹1.93 million (~$22,872).

Bidders must have completed similar solar projects within the last seven years. The completed works should meet one of the following criteria: three similar projects, each costing at least 30% of the tender value; two similar projects, each costing at least 40% of the tender value; or one costing at least 60% of the tender value.

Similar works are defined as supplying, installing, testing, and commissioning a solar project with a minimum capacity of 30% of the total tendered quantity or capacity.

These works must have been executed in locations such as railway stations, metro stations, airports, or office/service buildings and hospitals under the Central Government, State Government, or their Public Sector Undertakings.

The technical requirements include ensuring a minimum guaranteed generation of 15% Capacity Utilization Factor, implementing a web-based smart monitoring system for real-time performance tracking, installing a permanent cleaning system for solar modules, and establishing a local service center in specified locations.

Bidders must demonstrate a minimum average annual contractual turnover of either V/N or V, whichever is less, where V represents the advertised value of the tender and N is the number of years allocated for completing the work specified in the bid.

The average annual contractual turnover will be determined based on the average of “total contractual payments” recorded in the tenderer’s audited balance sheets for the previous three financial years.

For tenders involving solar projects with a capacity of 1 MW and above, bidders must have a local service center located at Katihar, New Jalpaiguri, Siliguri, New Cooch Behar, New Alipurduar, New Bongaigaon, Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Jorhat, Agartala, or Silchar.

The service center should be staffed with trained technicians and fully equipped with maintenance spares, tools, and instruments to address service requests from the Railway authorities.

Bidders must also specify the manufacturers and models of the solar PV modules they intend to supply. These must align with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s (MNRE) list of approved manufacturers and models under the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers Order.

The North Eastern Railway tendered the installation of grid-connected rooftop solar systems of a total capacity of 1.94 MW at railway stations, service buildings, residential quarters, and level crossings under Phase II in the Lucknow Division.

In May, the North Eastern Railway invited tenders for 1.15 MW rooftop solar projects at railway stations.