The Jabalpur Division of the West Central Railway has invited bids for the empanelment of developers to set up 1.65 MW of grid-connected rooftop solar systems at various locations under its jurisdiction on a design, build, finance, operate, and transfer basis.

The successful bidder must also take care of the project’s operation and maintenance (O&M) for 25 years.

The projects will be developed through a public-private partnership.

The last date to submit the bids is July 6, 2023. Bids will be opened on the same day.

Bidders will have to submit ₹1.068 million (~$13,006)/MW as an earnest money deposit. The successful bidder must furnish an amount equivalent to ₹1.602 million (~$19,502)/MW as a performance bank guarantee.

The projects will be developed under two categories based on capacities:

• Greater than 10 kW and up to 100 kW
• Greater than 100 kW and up to 500 kW

The duration of empanelment will be one year from the date of issuing the letter of award.

The project must be completed within 240 days of signing the power purchase agreement (PPA).

To be eligible, bidders should have experience in the successful installation of a minimum capacity of 200 kW of grid-connected rooftop solar systems as a developer or an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor.

Alternatively, bidders should have experience in successfully installing and commissioning 1,000 kW of grid-connected solar projects as a developer or an EPC contractor in residential, social, industrial, commercial, government, or any other sector before the bid submission date.

Also, the average annual turnover of the bidder during the last three financial years should be at least ₹15 million (~$182,661) per year.

Additionally, the bidder should have a positive net worth during the last three financial years.

Railways has mandated that the use modules from the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALM) issued by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) for the project.

If the project is not completed within the stipulated time, the solar developer will have to pay Railways liquidity damages at the rate of 0.2% of the performance security for each day of delay, subject to a maximum of 20% of the performance security.

Recently, South Eastern Railway invited bids for the empanelment of agencies for setting up 13.54 MW of grid-connected rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in railway zones of Odisha, Jharkhand, and West Bengal through public-private partnerships.

Earlier, West Central Railway had invited bids for state-wise empanelment of agencies to implement rooftop solar projects of 12.5 MW at various locations in Jabalpur, Bhopal, and Kota zones.

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