The Ministry of Railways has issued a request for qualification to empanel agencies to implement rooftop solar projects for the Indian Railways in Rajasthan.

The scope of work includes the design, procurement, erection of civil and structural works, installation, testing, and commissioning of the solar projects. The successful bidders must operate and maintain the projects for 25 years.

The last date to submit the bids is July 16, 2024. Bids will be opened on the same day.

There will be no financial assistance from the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy or the Railways.

The bid document costs ₹34,810 (~$416.8) inclusive of GST. Micro & Small Enterprises with valid Udyog Adahar certificates are exempt from the fee.

Bidders must pay an earnest money deposit of ₹1.07 million (~$12,812) per MW and performance security of ₹1.6 million (~$19,158) per MW. The performance security should be submitted to the Zonal Railways within 30 days of signing the power purchase agreement(PPA).

The average turnover of the bidders during the last three financial years should be ₹15 million (~$179,643) per year. Bidders must have had a positive net worth.

The bidder’s parent company will also be considered if it holds a minimum 26% share in the bidding company.

Successful bidders should pay a bid process management fee of ₹75,000 (~$898.4) per MW of the awarded capacity within 30 days of signing the PPA.

One agency for each solar capacity and range will be selected to implement the projects. The two solar PV capacities and ranges are (i) >10-100 kW (ii) >100-500 kW.

The duration of the empanelment will be one year from the issuance date of the Letter of Award. The empanelment may be extended by one year based on the agency’s performance and request from Zonal Railways.

Bidders should have installed a minimum aggregate capacity of 200 kW grid-connected rooftop solar projects as developers or in the EPC mode before the bid submission.

They should have installed and commissioned a minimum aggregate of 1,000 kW capacity of grid-connected solar projects as developers or in the EPC mode in the residential, social, industrial, commercial, and government sectors.

The Samastipur division of East Central Railway in Bihar recently invited bids to install 10 MW of ground-mounted solar projects on a design, build, finance, operate, and transfer basis.

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