The District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), Government of Tamil Nadu, has invited bids for the supply, installation, and commissioning of LED-based solar-powered home lighting systems in 385 houses in Tiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu. The installation of home lighting systems is covered under the Chief Minister’s ‘solar-powered greenhouse program.’

Apart from installing the solar-powered home lighting systems, the successful bidder will also have to provide comprehensive maintenance for five years.

Interested bidders will have to submit an amount of ₹116,000 (~$1,578) as the earnest money deposit.

The last date to submit the bids is February 10, 2021, and the bids will be opened on the same day. The pre-bid meeting will be held on January 19, 2021.

To participate in the competitive bidding process, the bidder should be a registered manufacturer of solar PV systems and use modules manufactured in India. The bidder should have the experience of supply and installation of 150 solar home lighting systems in the last three financial years before the bid submission date.

Regarding the financial criteria, the bidder’s minimum annual turnover should be at least ₹30 million (~$408,163) in any one of the last three financial years.

The block-wise tentative quantity is mentioned in the table:

As per the tender document, the supplier should complete 20% of the work within two months, 40% of the work within the next two months, and the balance 40% in the next two months. The entire work involving supply, installation, and commissioning of solar home lights should be completed within six months from the date of handing over of ready-to-install houses.

The modules used in the project should be indigenous crystalline modules with wattage capacity not less than 50 Wp. The modules should be warranted for wattage output, and it should not be less than 90% at the end of 12 years and 80% at the end of 25 years.

The color temperature of white LEDs used in the system should be in the range of 5500 degrees K – 6500 degrees K. The power consumption of the LED luminary should not be more than 7W x 2 (each in hall and verandah), 5W x 2(each in the bedroom and kitchen), and 3Wx 1 in the toilet.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Tender Tracker, a total of seven tenders have been issued so far for 9,446,503 solar lighting systems by different organizations across India.

Last year, the Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA) invited bids to empanel vendors for renewable energy projects and energy-efficient appliances in the state. The work scope included the procurement and supply of energy-saving appliances, supply, installation, commissioning, and maintenance of LED lights, energy-efficient pump sets, and renewable energy generation projects.

Earlier, Mercom reported that Tamil Nadu had issued 43 tenders to supply, install, and commission LED-based solar home lighting systems in 53,734 houses located in the state’s rural areas. The project fell under the Chief Minister’s ‘solar-powered greenhouse program’ for 2016-17, 2017-18, and 2018-19.