Bihar Plans To Solarise Panchayat Offices, Allows Hybrid Systems

The Bihar government has now planned to solarise its panchayats spread across 38 districts. The Panchayati Raj department of the state has planned to rope in hybrid inverters in several weak grid areas to maximise the usage of solar energy and counter blackouts. 

The Bihar government has now planned to solarise its panchayats spread across 38 districts. The Panchayati Raj department of the state has planned to rope in hybrid inverters in several weak grid areas to maximise the usage of solar energy and counter blackouts.

In a latest development, the state Panchayati Raj department issued a tender in this regard, seeking suppliers and installers for solar modules, batteries and inverters. The tender has been issued by the Bihar Gram Swaraj Yojana (BGYSYS), a constituent body of the department. The organisation has planned to solarise 38 District Panchayati Resource Centres (DPRC). In the initial phase, 16 of these DPRCs will be solarised.

As per the details from the department, Bihar is home to 8,053 Gram Panchayats, 533 Panchayat Samiti and 38 Zila Parishads. The department has now issued the bids to invite proposals for techno-feasibility bids from the qualified bidders for the supply and installation of smaller solar projects in these areas.

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As per the mandate of the tender, the state government is seeking higher efficient solar panels with minimum 500Wp . It has also demanded ALMM registered mono-PERC panels with capacities more than 20%. The tender said that the solar inverters for these panchayat buildings must be hybrid inverters with grid export facility.

The Panchayati Raj department tender said that the assignment will be for a period of three years or until the completion of the supply and installation of the panels, inverter in the selected DPRCs. The tender said that after selecting the Letter of Intent (LOI) will be issued by the department to the successful bidder.

The government said that in case of non-performance/delayed performance it could forfeit the performance security, deduct 1 percent fees. It also said that the department can also cancel the contract in case of defaults and delays.

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Bihar & hybrid tenders

The Bihar government, marred by the lower penetration of solar energy in the state has been working to boost the growth of green energy through other alternative ways like floating solar, canal solar, rooftop solar in government buildings, solar lights in rural areas and solarisation of its panchayats.

Hybrid inverters, meanwhile, is now getting traction due to the virtue of being used in weak grid areas and in blackouts. This maximises the use of solar energy. This tender now bats for boosting the penetration of solar with hybrid inverters unlike conventional grid-connected inverters or off-grid solutions.