Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi Smart City Limited has invited bids for the development of a 1.2 MW ground-mounted solar project at a water treatment plant near Vallanadu.

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

The last date for bid submission is March 13, 2019. The techno-commercial bids will open on the same date.

To be eligible to bid, a bidder should be channel partner of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy or an empaneled vendor by the Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency.

In order to participate, a bidder should also have installed solar PV projects of cumulative capacity of at least 600 kW in central or state governments’ properties, local bodies, or public sector units.

Moreover, the minimum average annual turnover of the bidder should be ₹60 million (~$0.84 million) in the last three years.

Under the central government’s Smart Cities Mission, scores of states have announced their plans to make their cities sustainable by the installation of solar panels, net metering and various other infrastructural revamps. Here are a few examples:

Another city in Tamil Nadu, Salem Smart City Limited (SSCL), has also invited bids to install grid-connected rooftop solar projects.

There have been several other Smart City tenders recently.

Previously, the Tirupati Smart City Corporation Limited (TSCCL) invited Request for Proposal (RfP) for 6 MW of grid-connected solar projects.

In March 2018, Karnataka’s Tumakuru Smart City Limited tendered 2.7 MW of grid-connected rooftop solar projects to be established on the city’s government buildings.

In April 2018, the Diu Smart City became the first in the country to run on 100 percent renewable energy during daytime hours. It has developed 9 MW solar park in the city along with rooftop solar panels located on 79 government buildings, generating 1.3 MW annually.

In October 2018, Indore Smart City Development Limited also issued a tender for smart meters to be installed under Indore Smart City project.

In November 2018, the Greater Chennai Corporation announced its plan to install solar panels on 662 of its buildings under Smart City Program.