The West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited (WBPDCL) has tendered a 5 MW, grid-connected floating solar photovoltaic (PV) project to be developed in the district of Murshidabad. The bid-submission deadline is March 6, 2018.

The project is set to be developed on Raw Water Pond Number 3 of the Sagardighi Thermal Power Project (SgTPP) on a turnkey basis.

The scope of work includes the design, engineering, procurement, supply, installation, testing, and commissioning of the 5 MW, grid-connected, floating solar PV project.

The successful bidder will have to provide operation and maintenance services for five years as well as a warranty. The project cost is estimated at ₹348.4 million (~$5.44 million) and the project completion timeframe is 180 days from the date of contract award.

According to a Mercom source at WBPDCL, the organization will soon come out with another 5 MW floating solar PV tender for the Santhaldih Thermal Power Station in the Purulia district.

West Bengal is one of the least developed solar states in India with an installed large-scale solar capacity of a mere 57 MW and a project pipeline of 45 MW, according to Mercom’s India Solar Project Tracker.

Floating solar PV projects are slowly gaining traction in India. In the past few months, a number of tenders for small-capacity floating solar PV projects have been issued.

These include a 3 MW floating solar project tendered by the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) that is set to be developed on the Meghadrigedda Reservoir in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Greater Visakhapatnam Smart City Corporation Limited (GVSCCL) likewise tendered a 2 MW floating solar project to be installed on the Mudasarlova Reservoir also in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

In December 2017, Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) invited Expressions of Interest (EoIs) from prospective project developers to set up 10 GW of floating solar PV projects in a phased manner during the next three years.

In addition, Lakshadweep Energy Development Agency (LEDA) has invited EOIs from developers and contractors to develop 10 MW of floating solar projects in Lakshadweep.

Mercom previously reported that the Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) invited EOIs from companies with experience installing floating solar power projects or that have the technology to install a 5 MW, large-scale floating solar project in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.