KSEB Invites Bids for 100 MW Grid-Connected Solar Projects in Kerala

The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) has invited bids from solar developers to set up 100 MW of grid-connected rooftop and ground-mounted projects. Interested bidders must also provide operation and maintenance (O&M) services for five years. The project is divided into four parts as follows:

Part A: 30 MW of grid-connected rooftop solar projects with a capacity of up to 10 kW.
Part B: 35 MW of grid-connected rooftop solar projects with a capacity of 10 kW or more.
Part C: 20 MW of ground-mounted solar projects with a capacity of up to 500 kW.
Part D: 15 MW of ground-mounted solar projects with a capacity of 500 kW or more.

Bidders must submit their proposals by May 6, 2023, and the bids will be opened on May 15.

To participate, bidders must provide an earnest money deposit of Rs 10,000 per kW, subject to a maximum of Rs 1 crore. Empanelled vendors must also submit a performance bank guarantee of 10% of the awarded contract value.

Bidders quoting for Part B, Part C, or Part D must also include a mandatory quote for Part A, which should not be less than 25% of their total quoted capacity for the other three parts combined.

The O&M charge for the first year should be at least 1.5% of the project cost, and for the second year, it should not be lower than the first year’s O&M cost, with an escalation rate of 5.72%.

Projects with a capacity of 10 kW or more must be commissioned within six months, while those below 10 kW must be commissioned within three months.

To participate, bidders must meet specific criteria, including having installed and commissioned at least 1 MW of rooftop or ground-mounted solar projects in India. For quoting more than the minimum capacity, they should demonstrate that they have installed and commissioned at least 50% of the quoted capacity six months before the bid opening date.