REMC Limited (REMCL), a joint venture of the Ministry of Railways and RITES Ltd., has invited bids to develop a 17 MW Inter-State Transmission System (InSTS)-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) power project integrated with a 12.5 MW/50 MWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) at Dahod in Gujarat. The project will be established on vacant railway land under a tariff-based competitive bidding process and is intended to supply renewable electricity to Indian Railways under the Build-Own-Operate (BOO)/Renewable Energy Service Company (RESCO) model.
The initiative is part of Indian Railways’ ongoing efforts to expand its renewable energy portfolio and reduce dependence on conventional power sources for traction energy requirements. By combining solar generation with battery storage, the project aims to improve the reliability of renewable power supply while supporting India’s broader clean energy transition.
Under the tender, the selected developer will be responsible for the complete execution of the project. This includes designing, financing, constructing, owning, operating, and maintaining the solar PV plant, the battery energy storage system, and the associated transmission infrastructure up to the delivery point. The developer will also be responsible for securing grid connectivity and obtaining all statutory approvals, environmental clearances, permits, and financing required for the project.
REMCL will provide the required railway land on a lease basis through a Land Use Permission Agreement (LUPA). The electricity generated from the project will be supplied to Indian Railways through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with a tenure of 25 years, providing long-term revenue visibility for the successful bidder.
The bidding process will follow a single-stage, two-envelope e-tender format consisting of techno-commercial evaluation, financial bid evaluation, and an e-reverse auction to determine the final tariff. Interested bidders are required to pay a non-refundable document fee of Rs. 50,000 plus GST along with a bid processing fee of Rs. 3.40 lakh plus GST.
The Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) has been fixed at Rs. 16.24 lakh per MW and must be submitted in the form of a Bank Guarantee or Insurance Surety Bond. Successful bidders will also be required to furnish a Performance Bank Guarantee (PBG) of Rs. 40.60 lakh per MW before signing the PPA. The PBG will remain valid until nine months after the Scheduled Commencement of Supply Date (SCSD).
According to the tender schedule, bidders can submit queries up to ten days after the Notice Inviting Tender (NIT), while the pre-bid meeting will be held on the fifteenth day. A coordinated site visit is planned for the twenty-second day, followed by REMCL’s response to bidder queries on the twenty-fifth day. The last date for the sale of bid documents is the thirty-second day, while online bid submissions will close on the thirty-sixth day. Offline bid submissions and technical bid opening are scheduled for the thirty-eighth day. Financial bid opening, reverse auction and the issuance of the Letter of Award (LoA) will be announced later. The bids will remain valid for 180 days from the offline submission deadline.
The successful developer will be required to commission the project within 18 months from the effective date of the PPA. Delays beyond the scheduled commissioning timeline will result in penalties through proportionate encashment of the Performance Bank Guarantee, while delays exceeding six months may lead to termination of the remaining project capacity. The developer must also achieve financial closure at least six months before the scheduled commissioning date and maintain the required annual capacity utilisation factor while ensuring dependable peak-hour power supply through the integrated battery storage system. The project represents another significant step in Indian Railways’ strategy to expand renewable energy procurement and strengthen sustainable power infrastructure across its network.
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