The NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited (NVVN), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), has invited bids for 50 MW (AC) of grid-connected solar PV projects at Panchet in Jharkhand.

The scope of work includes the design, engineering, manufacturing, supply, erection, testing, and commissioning of 50 MW of solar PV projects on approximately 290 acres of land at Panchet in the state of Jharkhand. It also includes the operation and maintenance of the solar PV project infrastructure for 25 years.

The last date for the submission of bids is March 30, 2020, and the last date for the receipt of queries of clarification from prospective bidders is March 21, 2020.

Interested bidders will have to submit an amount of ₹25 million (~$337,646) as the bid security amount before the date and time for online bid submission.

To take part in the bidding process, the bidder should have an electrical contractor’s license from any state or union territory of India and should submit an undertaking along with the techno-commercial bid.

Regarding the financial criteria, the average turnover of the bidder should not be less than ₹2 billion (~$27.01 million) during the preceding three years as on the last date of the submission of bids.

In case the bidder does not satisfy the annual turnover criteria, its holding company will be required to meet the stipulated turnover requirements as above. The net worth of the bidder as on the last date of the preceding financial year should not be less than 100% of the bidder’s paid-up share capital. If the bidder does not satisfy the net worth criteria on its own, it can meet the requirement of the net worth based on the strength of its subsidiaries or subsidiaries of its holding company.

Recently, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) designated NTPC as the renewable energy implementing agency to facilitate the application of connectivity and long-term access in the inter-state transmission system network. The agency can act as a facilitator for those projects which are based on standalone storage sources of installed capacity of 50 MW or above.

In November last year, NVVN had floated a tender for 7.2 MW of grid-connected rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in the Mandideep area, around 25 km from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh’s capital city.