West Bengal Power Development Corporation (WBPDCL) has invited bids for e-tender and reverse auction to commission a 5 MW grid-connected floating solar project on a raw water pond at Sagardighi thermal power station.

The project must be commissioned within ten months of receiving the work order. The developer must provide comprehensive operation and maintenance (O&M) service for five years on a turnkey basis.

The last day to submit the bids is January 9, 2023. Bids will be opened on January 11.

The tender laid out the condition that 5% of the project cost plus GST will be retained as a performance warranty for the O&M period.

The amount will be paid back to the developer at the rate of 1% yearly after the successful completion of the work.

Bidders must furnish ₹7.2 million (~$87,520) as an earnest money deposit.

Separately, the successful bidders must furnish 3% of the total project cost as a performance bank guarantee.

Technical eligibility

The eligibility criteria will be through the following routes:

Route 1

Bidders must have installed and commissioned at least 5 MW of rooftop, ground-mount, or floating solar projects in the last seven years.

One of these projects should be of 3 MW at a single location. This project should be operating for a minimum of one year.

In addition, they must have an O&M experience for at least one 3 MW solar project. The projects must be operational for at least a year.

Route 2

Companies that have executed engineering, procurement, and constriction (EPC) work in wide-ranging sectors, including power, steel, oil and gas, petrochemical, fertilizer, cement, coal mining, or any other process industry in the last ten years, can also submit bids.

They should have executed at least one electrical substation of 33 kV or above voltage level, consisting of equipment such as 33kV or above voltage level circuit breakers and power transformers, either as developers or as EPC contractors. The project must be in operation for at least one year.

They should have completed three similar works costing a minimum of ₹100 million (~$1.21 million) each, two similar works of ₹120 million (~$1.45 million) each, or one work of ₹200 million (~$2.43 million) in the last seven years.

Bidders must have a minimum average annual turnover of ₹135 million (~$1.64 million) during the last three financial years. Their net worth should not be less than 100% of their paid share capital.

In case of delay in project commissioning, developers will have to pay 0.5% of the project as liquidated damages, subject to a maximum of 10% of the total project cost.

Earlier, WBPDCL invited bids to select a consultant to conduct pre-feasibility studies to finalize the capacity and prepare a detailed project report for a floating solar project at Bakreswar reservoir in the Birbhum district of West Bengal.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Tender Tracker, WBPDCL has issued tenders for 105 MW of solar projects to date.