NTPC Limited has invited bids for an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) package with land development for 500 MW of grid-connected solar projects anywhere in India. The successful bidder will also be required to take care of the operation and maintenance activities of the solar project for three years from the date of the successful completion of the trial run.

The scope of work includes design, manufacturing, supply, packing, forwarding, transportation, unloading, storage, installation, and commissioning of the projects.

The last date to submit the bids is August 10, 2021, while the bids will be opened on the same day. The pre-bid meeting will be held on July 27, 2021.

The minimum capacity an interested party could bid is 50 MW, while the maximum capacity has been set as 500 MW. The individual project should be of a minimum capacity of 50 MW or higher in multiples of 10.

The land identified for the solar project will be transferred or leased in the name of NTPC or the subsidiary company.

The bidding document specifies that open category solar cells and modules should be used for the project.

The EPC contractor will be responsible for developing ground-mounted solar projects and a power evacuation system up to the interconnecting grid substation per the detailed specifications and applicable technical standards.

To participate in the bidding process, the bidder should have designed, supplied, erected, and commissioned as an EPC contractor or developed grid-connected solar projects of cumulative installed capacity of 40 MW or higher, out of which one power should have been of 10 MW or higher capacity.

Alternatively, to bid for projects in 50 MW to 300 MW capacity, the bidder should have executed in the last ten years an industrial project either as a developer or an EPC contractor in the area of power, steel, oil, and gas, petrochemical, fertilizer, cement, coal mining, or any other process industry for a value of ₹2.58 billion (~$34.63 million) or more. For projects in the 310 MW to 500 MW capacity, the bidder should have executed a project for a value of ₹5.16 billion (~$69.26 billion) or more.

The project should have been in successful operation for at least one year before the bid opening date.

Also, the bidder should have executed at least one electrical substation of 33 kV or above voltage level, consisting of equipment such as 33kV 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.

For projects in the range of 50 MW to 300 MW capacity, the bidder’s average annual turnover should be ₹2.58 billion (~$34.63 million) for the last three financial years. For projects in the 310 MW to 500 MW capacity range, the bidder’s average annual turnover should be ₹5.16 billion (~$69.26 billion) in the last three financial years.

In April this year, NTPC invited bids for the EPC package with land development for 1,200 MW of grid-connected solar power projects in Rajasthan.

Earlier, NTPC had invited bids for EPC of up to 300 MW of grid-connected solar projects along with land in Gujarat.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Tender Tracker, NTPC has so far floated 4.16 GW of EPC tenders.