The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has floated a tender for a 20 MW solar power project with a 50 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS). The project will be set up in Phyang, located in Leh district of the union territory of Ladakh.

SECI said interested bidders were not required to pay an earnest money deposit (EMD) to participate in the tender. The last date for the submission of bids is February 10, 2021.

The scope of work includes the design, engineering, procurement, supply, testing, packing, associated civil works, installation, testing, and commissioning of the solar power project and  BESS along with interconnected transmission lines and performance demonstration. Successful bidders are expected to provide ten years of comprehensive operations and maintenance for the project.

To be eligible to participate in the competitive bidding process, applicants must have experience executing similar engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) works for ground-mounted solar projects with a cumulative capacity of 10 MW in the last seven financial years.

Alternatively, they must have executed two similar projects with a capacity of 2 MW each. These projects must have been in satisfactory operating conditions for the last six months.

Prospective bidders are expected to have a minimum average annual turnover of at least ₹1.31 billion (~$17.8 million) in the last three financial years. Their net worth must have been positive in the last financial year. Bidders must also have a minimum working capital of ₹545 million (~$7.4 million) as per their latest audited financial statement. They must also secure a letter from their bank confirming the availability of the line of credit for this amount.

The monocrystalline and bifacial modules to be used in the project must be domestically manufactured and be included in the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) as per the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s guidelines.

In February, it also issued a tender for setting up 14 MW of solar power projects with 42 MWh battery storage system (7MW/21 MWh each) at Leh and Kargil divisions. SECI had initially issued an NIT for the tender in March 2019.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Tender Tracker, SECI has issued 373 MW of solar tenders for projects with BESS as of December 2020.

Earlier this year, the Military Engineer Services invited bids for 3 MW of solar projects at two locations in the Leh region of Ladakh. The tender was to set up a 1.5 MW project along with battery energy storage systems rated at 0.75 MW/2.5MWh each at Tangtse and Durbuk.