Indian state-owned development firm Mahatma Phule Renewable Energy and Infrastructure Technology (MAHAPREIT) has issued a tender for a 100MW floating solar project at the Tansa and Modak dams in Thane district, Maharashtra.
The tender seeks a developer to set up a grid-connected floating solar plant under a design, finance, build, own, operate and transfer model, to be awarded through a tariff-based competitive bidding process in two phases. The power generated from the project will be procured by MAHAPREIT under a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA). The ceiling tariff has been set to INR4.18 (US$0.04) per kWh.
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Interested parties have a February 13 deadline to submit their bids, with the offers expected to be opened on February 16.
As per the tender, bidders are required to submit an earnest money deposit of INR54.6 million (US$600,700) and a tender fee of INR29,500 (US$325), while the selected developer must provide a performance bank guarantee of INR546 million (US$6.01 million). The project has a minimum capacity utilisation factor of 25%, with a permissible variation of ±5%.
Successful bidders must have commissioned at least 25MW of floating solar capacity over the past seven financial years, including either a single 10MW project at one site or a 15MW project on a single water body, with all referenced projects operational for a minimum of 12 months prior to bid submission.
The tender stipulates that bidders must have at least five years of solar module manufacturing experience, have commissioned 200MW of grid-connected solar capacity in India over the past five years – including one 50MW project operational for at least 12 months –and demonstrate at least 100MW of operations and maintenance experience, including 10MW of floating solar O&M for a minimum of 12 months.
The project must use components included in the governments’ Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM), which designates Indian-made solar products and manufacturers which can be used for public procurement projects.
Furthermore, bidders must also meet a minimum net worth requirement of INR50 million (US$550,000) per MW and complete the project within 18 months of PPA execution or site handover, with phased commissioning permitted.
Maharashtra is actively tendering new capacity and ranks first in India for floating solar potential, with studies estimating more than 32GW available across its water bodies –the highest in the country, according to a report by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).
