The West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited (WBPDCL) has issued a tender for 10 MW of grid-connected floating solar project at the Sagardighi Thermal Power Project in Murshidabad.

The scope of work includes the design, engineering, manufacturing, procurement, supply, installation, testing, and commissioning of the projects on a turnkey basis. The selected bidder must also provide five years of comprehensive operation and maintenance.

Interested bidders are expected to pay an earnest money deposit (EMD) of ₹12 million (~$161,202). The last date for the submission of bids is April 15, 2020. A pre-bid meeting will be held on March 27, 2020.

To be eligible to take part in the competitive bidding process, applicants must have experience setting up at least one similar solar project of 10 MW or two such works larger than 5 MW in the last seven years. They must also have projects meeting these requirements that have been in operation for at least one year before the bid submission deadline.

Additionally, bidders must also have had a minimum average annual turnover, not less than ₹180 million (~$2.41 million) in the last three financial years. Their net worth must not be less than 100% of the paid-up share capital of the bidder.

Last year, the state-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) had issued a tender for the supply of Balance of System (BoS) items needed for the installation of the 5 MW of floating solar projects in the state of West Bengal. BHEL was setting up the project for the West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited (WBPDCL) at their 1,600 MW coal-fired thermal power plant in the Sagardighi area of the state’s Murshidabad district.

In February 2018, the West Bengal Power Development Corporation had issued this 5 MW floating a solar tender. Then in March 2018, the auction for these projects was conducted in the state in which a Gurgaon-based company, International Coil Limited, had emerged as the winner. In all, five bidders had participated in the financial round. Adani Infra had quoted ₹337.25 million (~$5.19 million)  for 5 MW, Vikram Solar bid at ₹379.82 million (~$5.84 million), Sterling & Wilson quoted ₹393.59 million (~$6.06 million) while Giriraj Renewables quoted ₹475.48 million (~$7.32 million)  for the entire capacity. However, the winner International Coil Limited could not commence the project development, which eventually led to the cancellation of this tender.