NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited (NVVN), a wholly-owned subsidiary of NTPC, has invited bids to enlist engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractors for the design, supply, construction, testing, and commissioning of grid-connected rooftop solar projects across India.

The successful bidder will also have to take care of the operation and maintenance (O&M) activities for ten years.

The scope of work includes feasibility assessment, designing, engineering, procurement, testing & commissioning, rooftop strength test, water arrangements, construction power, and transportation required for setting up the rooftop projects.

The last date to submit the bids is May 17, 2021. Bids will be opened on May 18.

Within ten days of the notification of award, the contractor should provide a contract performance guarantee of 3% of the contract price for all the contracts.

The bidder should have designed, supplied, erected, and commissioned grid-connected solar power projects with a cumulative installed capacity of 800 kW or higher as an EPC contractor or developer, out of which at least one rooftop solar project should have been of 100 kW or higher capacity. The reference project should have been in successful operation for at least six months before the bid opening date.

Alternatively, the bidder should have executed in the last ten years an industrial project as a developer or an EPC contractor in the power, steel, oil & gas, fertilizer, cement, or coal mining sectors, or any other process industry for a value of ₹40 million (~$529,622) or more in a single project. The project should have been in successful operation for at least one year before the bid opening date.

Also, the bidder should have executed at least one electrical substation of 11 kV or above voltage level, consisting of equipment such as the 11 kV or above voltage level circuit breakers and power transformer, either as a developer or an EPC contractor. The substation should have been in successful operation for at least one year.

The bidder’s average annual turnover for the last three financial years should be ₹41 million (~$542,863) for 20 kW-100 kW, 100 kW-500 kW, and 500 kW-1,000 kW range. For 1,000 kW-3,000 kW, the average annual turnover should be ₹123 million (~$1.63 million), and for 3,000 kW-10,000 kW, the average annual turnover should be ₹410 million (~$542,863).

The time frame for the completion of the projects is given below:

The bidder’s net worth as of the last day of the last financial year should not be less than 100% of the bidder’s paid-up share capital.

Only ‘Class-I local suppliers’ are eligible to bid in this tender. ‘Class-I local supplier’ means a supplier whose goods, services, or works offered for procurement meet the minimum local content (50%) as prescribed.

Recently, NVVN invited bids for the design, engineering, construction, and commissioning of 1 MW rooftop solar power projects at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Jodhpur for captive consumption.

In December last year, NVVN had issued a tender for 30 MW of grid-connected rooftop, ground-mounted, and elevated structure solar photovoltaic projects in facMadhya Pradesh. The scope of work included the design, engineering, supply, construction, installation, testing, commissioning, and ten years of O&M of the projects.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Tender Tracker,  NVVN has so far floated tenders for 11.2 MW of rooftop solar projects.