NTPC Renewable Energy (NTPC REL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of NTPC, has invited bids for the balance of the system package for 1,200 MW (2 blocks of 600 MW each) Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS)-connected solar energy projects at NTPC REL’s 4,750 MW Khavda Renewable Energy Park – South Block.

The last date for the submission of bids is December 6, 2023. Bids will be opened on the same day.

The scope of the work includes design, engineering, manufacturing, supply, packing and forwarding, transportation, unloading storage, installation, testing, and commissioning of solar photovoltaic projects, excluding the supply of solar modules.

NTPC REL will supply the modules as free-issue items.

Bidders have to submit ₹22,500 (~$270) as the cost of the bidding document.

The number of blocks (with specified capacity) and corresponding earnest money deposit (EMD)  are as follows:

• For 1 Block (600 MW), the EMD is ₹100 million (~$1.2 million)
• For 2 Blocks (1,200 MW), the EMD is ₹200 million (~$2.4 million)

If the bidder submits a bid security amount lower than the required amount for the offered number of blocks, the bidder’s eligible number of blocks will be reduced to the maximum number of blocks corresponding to the value of the submitted bid security.

In compliance with the “Report of the Working Group on Data Submission Procedure and Verification of Compliance with CEA Regulations on Technical Standards for Grid Connectivity by RE Generators, July 2022,” it has been estimated that the AC equipment capacity required to meet the reactive power needs at the point of interconnection for the 2×600 MW Khavda project should be increased by approximately 20%.

Only ‘Class-I local suppliers’ are eligible to participate in this tender.

Bidders should be developers or have experience in designing, supplying, erecting/supervising the erection, and commissioning/supervising the commissioning of Balance of System for solar grid-connected power plants with a cumulative installed capacity of 40 MW or higher.

Among these, at least one project must have had a capacity of 10 MW or more, and this project should have been in operation for at least six months before the bid opening date.

Alternatively, bidders should have executed an industrial project in the last ten years as either a developer or an EPC contractor in the power, steel, oil, gas, petrochemical, fertilizer, cement, coal mining (including coal handling plant), or any other process industry.

This project should have been in operation for at least one year for industrial projects (other than the renewable energy sector) or at least six months (for projects in the solar/wind sector) before the bid opening date.

Bidders should have executed at least one electrical substation with a 33 kV or higher voltage level, including equipment like 33 kV or above voltage level circuit breakers and power transformers, either as developers or EPC contractors.

This substation should have been in successful operation for at least one year (for projects other than the renewable energy sector) or at least six months (for electrical substations in the solar/wind sector) before the bid opening date.

The average annual turnover of the bidders for any three financial years out of the preceding five financial years, as of the date of the bid opening, should not be less than the specified financial figure below:

• For a bid capacity of 600MW (Block-1 OR Block-2), the minimum annual turnover should be ₹1.5 billion (~$18 million)
• For a bid capacity of 1200MW (Block-1 AND Block-2), the minimum annual turnover should be (~$36 million)

Bidders’ net worth as of the last day of the preceding financial year should be at least 100% of the bidder’s paid-up share capital.

Earlier, NTPC Renewable Energy invited bids for land and an extra-high-voltage transmission system package to develop up to 2 GW of ISTS-connected solar projects in Rajasthan (Tranche-III).

Recently, NTPC invited bids to set up 1,500 MW of ISTS-connected solar projects across India.

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