The New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (NREDCAP) has issued a tender to procure and set up 5,000 solar-powered water pumps in the state as part of the Off-Grid and Decentralized Solar Applications program.

The opening date for financial bidding is January 11, 2018.

The scope of work includes the supply, installation, testing, and commissioning of 3/5 horsepower (hp) solar water pumps. Successful bidders will be responsible for maintaining the solar-powered pumps for five years. They will also be responsible for providing a warranty that covers the free replacement of any defective components found in the solar water pumping systems for five years.

The solar-powered pumps will be setup on a turnkey basis on lines that the meet technical specifications prescribed by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).

Successful bidders will be required to enter a Tri-Partite Agreement (TPA) with NREDCAP and the state distribution company (DISCOM). Solar-powered pump sets must be commissioned within 30 days from the date that the DISCOM issues its purchase order.

Of the 5,000 pump sets tendered; the developers will be allowed to source 4,000 pumps from anywhere. The remaining 1,000 pumps must be sourced from local manufacturers, a requirement that is intended to boost the domestic solar industry.

Bidders must submit 10 percent of the contract value as an Operation and Maintenance (O&M) performance guarantee within 30 days of the TPA execution.

Recently, states across India have been turning to solar energy to meet the power demands of their agricultural sectors. In Karnataka, the Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited (KREDL), a state government agency, issued a tender to procure and set up 1,013 five hp solar-powered water pumps.

Mercom previously reported that the states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, and Uttar Pradesh (UP) have all submitted proposals to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) to replace a combined 1,067 MW of conventional energy with solar power to be used for irrigation purposes.

Maharashtra’s state DISCOM, the Maharashtra State Power Generation Company (MAHAGENCO), is aiming to install 1,500 MW of solar energy for agriculture feeders across the state. The DISCOM recently issued three separate tenders for a total of 300 MW that will be developed on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) basis to supply power to the agricultural feeders under the Phase-II program.

In November 2017, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) released a report that evaluated a range of solar pump technologies and business models available in India for irrigation and salt mining to better understand which technologies can best fit farmers’ needs.

The MIT researchers found that groundwater pumps are a critical technology in India, especially for small-scale farmers who depend on them for irrigating crops during dry seasons. With the lack of a reliable electrical grid connection, and the high price and variable supply of diesel fuel, solar‑powered pumps have great potential to meet farmers’ needs while reducing costs and better preserving natural resources.

 

Image credit: GIPL Solar