The West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL) is planning to develop a total of 63 MW of grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) projects across its various districts.

WBSEDCL has issued a tender inviting bids from interested project developers to develop the projects in various parts of the state.

The successful bidder would be responsible for the design, engineering, manufacture, procurement, installation, testing, and commissioning of the project. The bid submission deadline is February 26, 2018.

The successful bidder would also responsible for providing a project warranty as well as Operation and Maintenance (O&M) services for five years.

The tender and offer will remain valid for a minimum period of 180 days from the date the technical bid is opened on March 5, 2018.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Project Tracker, West Bengal has an installed large-scale solar capacity of a mere 42 MW and is one of the least developed solar states in India. Considering its size, the state has so far failed to attract any meaningful investments into solar projects

The new tender announcement comes as the state has recently begun working to increase its solar installations.

A week before WBSEDCL made its tender announcement, the West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency (WBREDA) issued its own 10 MW tender for the development of a grid‑connected solar PV project in Bhajanghat in the state’s Nadia district.

Another tender for a 10 MW grid-connected rooftop solar project was issued by WBREDA in February 2017. That capacity for that project included 1,000 grid-connected rooftop solar PV installations each with a capacity of 10 kW.

If all three tenders are successful in bringing the proposed projects online, they would nearly triple West Bengal’s total solar capacity to 125 MW.

Image credit: Flickr