The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has floated an operation and maintenance (O&M) tender for a 15 MW solar power project installed at Jayant, Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh.

The deadline for the submission of bids is November 27, 2019, while the bid opening date has been scheduled for November 29, 2019.

The interested bidders need to pay a sum of ₹200,000 (~$2,787) as the earnest money deposit (EMD) to participate in this tender.

The scope of work includes round the clock deployment of a qualified engineer and a highly skilled technician for each shift for the smooth and safe operation and monitoring of the solar project.

The work also involves continuous monitoring of various parameters of the solar project and hourly logging of all important operational parameters. The successful bidder must ensure the generation and compilation of all types of available reports through SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition). The bidder should ensure the deployment of a minimum of 16 unskilled workers per day for washing all 62,640 solar panels six days a week.

Earlier this year, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) issued a letter recommending efficient utilization of water for cleaning utility-scale solar projects.

The ministry said that project developers are currently using too much water for cleaning solar modules, and they should try and minimize wastage. The ministry has also recommended the use of robotic cleaning technology, which uses less water for cleaning solar projects. Water is scarce in most regions where solar projects have been developed in India. Currently, developers must seek permission from local authorities to get access to groundwater and canals. Given the fact that the projects are in remote locations, it is also difficult for developers to arrange water from other sources to maintain their projects.

Regarding the technical specifications of this NTPC tender, the successful bidder must use water guns during water washing and use suitable wipers for washing and cleaning of solar panels.

The scope of work also involves the tilting of all modules (62,640) to the required angle as per NTPC guidelines. During the tilting of the photovoltaic module, a damaged string monitoring box or any damaged part is to be reported, and the bidder should take necessary corrective action. The NTPC will provide all required spares.

The successful bidder will also have to take the responsibility of the day-to-day maintenance work, including predictive, preventive, and breakdown maintenance of the 132 kV line.

The contract period is for two years. However, it may be extended at the discretion of the NTPC for another three months at the same rate and terms and conditions.

In March 2019, Mercom reported that the NTPC issued a tender for the operation and maintenance of the power evacuation system of the Rajgarh solar project for two years. The project is in Madhya Pradesh.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Project Tracker, out of the 873.5 MW large-scale projects in operations across India, 300 MW is installed in the state of Madhya Pradesh.

Previously, it was reported that the National Thermal Power Corporation invited bids for the development of grid-connected solar projects up to a capacity of 1,000 MW.

Image credit: LeafVac

Anjana is a news editor at Mercom India. Before joining Mercom, she held roles of senior editor, district correspondent, and sub-editor for The Times of India, Biospectrum and The Sunday Guardian. Before that, she worked at the Deccan Herald and the Asianlite as chief sub-editor and news editor. She has also contributed to The Quint, Hindustan Times, The New Indian Express, Reader’s Digest (UK edition), IndiaSe (Singapore-based magazine) and Asiaville. Anjana holds a Master’s degree in Geography from North Bengal University, and a diploma in mass communication and journalism from Guru Ghasidas University, Bhopal.