The Electricity Department of Puducherry has invited bids to fix rates for design, supply, erection, testing, and commissioning, including warranty, operation, and maintenance of grid-connected rooftop solar power projects of various capacities atop residential buildings.

The Puducherry government plans to install rooftop solar modules on 50,000 households annually, totaling 150,000 households by December 2026. This initiative aims to reach a combined capacity of 225 MW over three years, starting April 2024.

The last day to submit the bids is February 19, 2024. Bids will be opened the next day.

Projects come in different sizes: Part A is 1 KW, Part B is 2 KW, Part C is 3 KW, Part D ranges from above 3 KW to 10 KW, and Part E covers common facilities in resident welfare associations/group housing societies (RWA/GHS) up to 500 KW.

For individual household projects from 1 to 3 kW, the central financial assistance is ₹18,000 ($216) per kW. Projects above 3 to 10 kW receive ₹9,000 ($108) per kW. RWA and GHS projects up to 500 kW also receive ₹9,000 (~$108) per kW.

Bidders should have designed, supplied, installed & commissioned grid-connected solar power projects having an aggregate capacity of not less than 50 kW.

They must have an annual turnover of ₹500,000 (~$6,024) in any one of the last three financial years or have a net worth of at least ₹1.2 million (~$14,459).

Bidders who are local Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises are exempted from the financial eligibility requirements.

The rate submitted by the lowest bidder will be adopted as the benchmark cost for rooftop solar in residential buildings until March 31, 2026.

Only modules from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s Approved List for Models and Manufacturers must be used.

Solar modules used must have a minimum capacity of 500 Wp and should be warranted for their output peak watt capacity, which should not be less than 90% at the end of 12 years and 80% at the end of 30 years.

A new program to install rooftop solar systems atop 10 million households across India has been announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as part of the Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana initiative.

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