NTPC Renewable Energy (NTPC REL) has invited bids for land and power evacuation packages to develop 1,000 MW solar power projects in the Mandsaur region, Madhya Pradesh.

The last date for submitting bids is September 11, 2024. Bids will be opened on the same day.

The scope of work includes the following:

Land Arrangement

• Secure government or private land (5 acres per MW) on a freehold or leasehold basis near the Mandsaur pooling substation (ISTS) in Madhya Pradesh.
• The lease period must be at least 29 years and 11 months.
• Ensure necessary approach roads to the pooling substation and interconnections between plots, independently or through state resources.
• Conduct topography surveys and necessary land modification (cutting/filling) with 95% compaction per standard Proctor density tests, maintaining an average slope of 10% for tracker-based MMS installation (trackers excluded from the bidder’s scope).
• The preferred land slope should be in one direction for at least 100 meters in the north-south direction.
• Perform geotechnical investigations for the pooling substation and transmission system for foundation design.
• Install fencing, including entry/exit gates (minimum two per plot) and security cabins, for the solar project, excluding transmission line-related land.

Power Evacuation-Related Works

• Arrange grid connectivity with the ISTS substation in Mandsaur.
• Design, engineer, supply, erect, test, and commission AIS pooling substation (400 kV or 220 kV) with tie transformers (400kV/33kV or 220kV/33kV) in line with CEA standards, including associated SAS and protection and 33 kV pooling switchgear.
• Civil works for the substation, including the control room and pooling switchgear building.
• Design and construct the EHV transmission line from the pooling substation to ISTS substation, including securing the right of way.
• Design and construct a terminal bay at the ISTS end.

NTPC REL plans to finance this package through its resources or borrowings.

Bidders must pay ₹22,500 (~$268) for the bidding document.

They must have executed grid-connected solar PV/wind projects/parks with a cumulative capacity of 100 MW or more, including at least one project/park of 50 MW or higher capacity.

Bidders should have arranged land and obtained technical feasibility approval for power evacuation through the STU/ISTS substation.

Bidders must have executed an industrial project in the power/steel/oil and gas/petrochemical/fertilizer/cement/coal mining sectors in the last ten years and operated for at least one year/six months.

Bidders must have also executed at least one 33 kV or higher electrical substation, including equipment such as circuit breakers and power transformers, operating for at least one year/six months.

The average annual turnover of the bidders for a total quoted capacity of 50 MW to 300 MW must be a minimum of ₹125.7 million (~$1.4 million). For capacities greater than 300 MW, the turnover must be ₹419,000 (~$4991)/MW.

Additionally, industrial projects (other than the renewable energy sector) should have operated for at least one year, while renewable energy projects should have operated for at least six months.

Earlier, NTPC Renewable Energy issued a tender for an engineering, procurement, and construction package to develop solar projects of a cumulative capacity of 795 MW (2×275 MW + 1×245 MW) at Khavda RE Power Park, Rann of Kutch, in Gujarat.

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