The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has tendered a total of 25 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) projects with battery energy storage systems (BESS) to be developed on the island of Andaman & Nicobar.

The tender total includes an 8 MW solar PV project with BESS to be developed in Chidiyatapu in southern Andaman. The bid-submission deadline for that tender is May 17, 2018.

The agency also tendered a separate 17 MW solar PV project with BESS to be developed in the village of Manglutan in south Andaman. The bid-submission deadline for that tender is May 15, 2018.

The scope of work for both the tenders includes the design, engineering, supply, packaging, forwarding, transportation, unloading, storage, installation, testing, commissioning, and grid integration of the projects.

The successful bidder will also be responsible for identifying and providing the additional equipment, components, and services necessary for to integrate the systems into fully functional, grid-interactive BESS Systems.

Commenting on the development, an NTPC official told Mercom, “This is a retender of the previously tendered capacities with a few changes in the BESS specifications. All other guidelines and requirements are the same.”

When asked about the new BESS specification, the NTPC official added, “Wait for the NIT (Notice Inviting Tender) to be published. We cannot disclose all the details now. The NIT will be made public within a week.”

The original tenders for the projects were initially tendered by NTPC last summer. Those tenders called for the installation of the same amount of solar PV capacity with accompanying energy storage in the same locations.

Separately, NTPC has also issued a tender for the installation of BESS at an already-developed 5 MW solar project in the island’s Garcharma town.

The announcement of this latest spate of tenders is a positive development for the island which primarily relies on fossil fuel-based generation to meet its energy demands.

Recently, Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) India also tendered 20 MW of grid-connected solar PV with BESS to be developed in Andaman & Nicobar.