The West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency (WBREDA) has tendered 10 MW of grid-connected rooftop solar in West Bengal. The capacity includes 1,000 grid-connected rooftop solar PV installations each with a capacity of 10 kW. This is a domestic competitive tender with a bid-submission deadline of February 25, 2017.

The projects will be developed on a turnkey basis and the scope of work includes design, engineering, manufacture, procurement, testing, supply, installation, and commissioning along with maintenance of the projects for five years.

The WBREDA has asked bidders to submit their quote in batches of 500 10 kW systems. The lowest bidder will be awarded a contract to develop 5 MW capacity, the second lowest bidder will be awarded 3 MW (300 projects) and the next lowest bidder will be awarded 2 MW capacity (200 projects).

The project completion timeline is different for each set of projects:

• 500 projects/5 MW: The completion time is 270 days from the date of placement of letter of award (LOA)
• 300 projects/3 MW: The completion time is 210 days from the date of placement of LOA
• 200 projects/2 MW: The completion time is 180 days from the date of placement of LOA

The 10 MW capacity was initially tendered in 2016, but retendering was necessary to attract sufficient bids. These projects will be developed mainly on rooftops at schools and colleges, according to an official at WBREDA.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Project Tracker, this is the second solar auction in West Bengal in February 2017. Previously the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited tendered two 10 MW solar projects to be developed in Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal.

Image Credit: “Howrah Bridge” (CC BY 2.0) by Smeet Chowdhury