NTPC Limited has invited bids to build 735 MW of grid-connected solar projects in three blocks of 245 MW each at the Nokh Solar Park in Rajasthan.

The public sector undertaking did not specify an earnest money deposit requirement. The last date for submission of bids is February 22, 2021.

The scope of work includes the design, engineering, manufacturing, supply, storage, installation, and commissioning of the projects, along with the complete engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC). Selected bidders must also provide three years of comprehensive operations and maintenance services for the projects and the transmission system.

Only indigenously manufactured solar photovoltaic cells and modules that meet domestic content requirement specifications must be used in the project.

To be eligible to participate in the competitive bidding process, applicants must have previously designed, supplied, and commissioned solar projects with a cumulative capacity of at least 40 MW. At least one of these projects must be 10 MW or larger and should have been operational for the last six months. Solar project developers who meet these requirements are also allowed to place bids.

Alternatively, bidders who have executed industrial projects as an engineering, procurement, and construction contractor or a developer in the power, steel, oil, gas, petrochemical, fertilizer, cement, or coal mining sectors in the last ten years are eligible to apply.

Bidders must have executed at least one 33 kV electrical substation in the last year.

Applicants must also have had an average annual turnover of ₹2 billion (~$273.7 million) over the last three years if they place bids for one block and ₹4 billion (~$547.4 million) in case they bid for two blocks. Their net worth must not be less than 100% of their paid-up share capital.

The 980 MW Solar Park at Nokh village in the district of Jaisalmer in Rajasthan is being developed by the Rajasthan Solarpark Development Company, a subsidiary of Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation was incorporated in 2021 for developing infrastructure and managing solar parks in the state.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Tender Tracker, NTPC has floated tenders to construct about 1.5 GW of solar projects in Rajasthan.

Last year, NTPC extended the bid submission deadline for its tender for a balance of system (BoS) package for the 735 (3×245) MW Nokh solar power project in Rajasthan. The tender was initially floated in March last year.