The Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd. (SECI) has issued a new tender for floating solar projects. This time, the tender is for 20 MW of floating solar PV projects with 60 MW Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) on a turnkey basis in the union territory of Lakshadweep.

The project is spread across eight islands and will be awarded to a single bidder only.

The brief scope of work includes the supply, design, engineering, manufacturing, packing and forwarding, transportation, unloading storage, installation, and commissioning of the project. The successful bidder will also have to provide operations and maintenance (O&M) for 10 years.

The last date for the submission of bids is April 1, 2019.

To be eligible to bid for the project, a bidder should have executed ground-mounted solar projects on a turnkey basis of not less than 10 MW in the last seven financial years.

To participate in this tender, the minimum average annual turnover of the bidder should not be less than ₹1,008 million (~$14.11 million) in the last three financial years.

Earlier, the Lakshadweep Energy Development Agency (LEDA) had invited an expression of interest (EoI) from developers and contractors to develop 10 MW of floating solar projects in Lakshadweep.

Floating solar projects have become an attractive option for agencies in regions where land accessibility for large-scale solar projects poses a threat to the expansion of solar.

According to the market report “Where Sun Meets Water,” by the World Bank Group and the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS), the potential global market for floating solar is estimated to be around 400 GW. The report mentions that floating solar capacity has grown from 10 MW in 2014 to 1.1 GW in 2018.

Recently, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has extended the implementation timeline of distributed grid-connected solar power projects in Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands.

In March 2018, the union territory of Lakshadweep joined the UDAY program. According to the statement released by the Ministry of Power, Lakshadweep would receive an overall net benefit of approximately ₹80 million (~$1,225,680) by participating in the government’s UDAY program.

In the last couple of months, several floating solar tenders have been issued by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC).