NTPC Tenders For 500 MW of Solar EPC Projects

Close on the heels of announcing an aggressive reset of its renewable energy targets, state owned NTPC Limited has invited bids for an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) package with land development for 500 MW of grid-connected solar projects anywhere in India.

The tender, floated on Friday last week (July 2) has a last date for final bids of  August 10, 2021. The pre-bid meeting will be held on July 27, 2021.

These bids come with a proviso of successful bidders also doing the operation and maintenance activities of the solar project for three years after completion of the trial runs.

The projects will be pretty much completely outsourced, with the scope of work including design, manufacturing, supply, packing, forwarding, transportation, unloading, storage, installation, and commissioning of the projects.

The minimum bid capacity is 50 MW, with the maximum set at 500 MW. Or in multiples of 10 from 50 MW onwards.

In qualification criteria for bidders, they should have designed, supplied, erected, and commissioned as an EPC contractor or developed grid-connected solar projects of cumulative installed capacity of 40 MW or higher, out of which one power should have been of 10 MW or higher capacity.

For projects in 50 MW to 300 MW capacity, the bidder should have executed in the last ten years an industrial project either as a developer or an EPC contractor in the area of power, steel, oil, and gas, petrochemical, fertilizer, cement, coal mining, or any other process industry for a value of Rs 258 crores or more. For projects in the 310 MW to 500 MW capacity, the bidder should have executed a project for a value of Rs 516 crores or more.

The project should have been in successful operation for at least one year before the bid opening date.

Also, the bidder should have executed at least one electrical substation of 33 kV or above voltage level, consisting of equipment such as 33kV or above voltage level circuit breakers and power transformers, either as a developer or as an EPC contractor, which should have been in successful operation for at least one year before the bid opening date.

The land identified for the solar project will be transferred or leased in the name of NTPC or the subsidiary company.

Only open category solar cells and modules have been allowed.

The EPC contractor will be responsible for developing ground-mounted solar projects and a power evacuation