NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited (NVVN), a wholly-owned subsidiary of NTPC Limited, has invited bids for setting up 2 MW of grid-connected ground-mounted solar photovoltaic projects at the Agartala airport in Tripura.

NVVNL did not specify an earnest money deposit for the tender. The deadline for the submission of bids is February 22, 2021.

Mercom had earlier reported that the Tripura Electricity Regulatory Commission approved the 2 MW solar project at the newly constructed terminal at Agartala’s Maharaj Bir Bikram Airport in December last year. Once operational, this would be the first solar-powered airport in India’s North East. The Commission is considering it as a special case and allowing a net metering facility for the 2 MW solar project.

The scope of work includes the design, engineering, supply, construction, testing, and commissioning of the projects, along with net metering. Selected bidders are expected to provide operations and maintenance services for three years.

To be eligible to participate in the competitive bidding process, applicants must have previously designed, supplied, and commissioned at least 800 kW of solar projects cumulatively. At least one of these projects must be 100 kW or larger and should have been operational for the last six months. Solar power project developers who meet these requirements are also allowed to place bids.

Alternatively, bidders who have executed industrial projects as an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor or a developer in the power, steel, oil, gas, petrochemical, fertilizer, cement, or coal mining sectors worth ₹40 million (~$548,731) in the last ten years are eligible to apply. They must have executed at least one 11 kV electrical substation in the last year.

Applicants are also expected to have had an average annual turnover of ₹75 million (~$1 million) over the last three years. Their net worth must not be less than 100% of their paid-up share capital.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Tender Tracker, NVVN has issued tenders for 40.2 MW of solar projects as of December 2020.

In December 2020, NVVN issued a tender for 30 MW of grid-connected rooftop, ground-mounted, and elevated structure solar photovoltaic projects in Madhya Pradesh.

Earlier, the Airports Authority of India signed a Memorandum of Understanding with NVVN to set up solar power facilities and adopt electric vehicles at its airports.