India’s Bihar tenders for 250MW of solar

Bihar Renewable Energy Development Agency (BREDA) has issued a tender for 250MW of grid-connected solar projects in the north Indian state.

The minimum capacity for a single bid will be 25MW. All developers must already have experience in building a minimum of 10MW of capacity, operational for more than 12 months ahead of the submission of the bid.

The successful bidder will be responsible for design, EPC and maintenance of the project. A pre-bid conference will be held on 13 June in Patna, with the deadline for bid submissions on 10 July.

As one of India's poorest states, Bihar has traditionally been one of the slow-movers in embracing large-scale solar. The state has just 10 projects with a combined capacity of 100MW, according to consultancy firm Bridge to India's 'India Solar Navigator'. With tens of millions of locals without access to power, solar has more often come in the form of decentralised and off-grid systems in Bihar.

An example, for instance, is a micro-grid PV Tech visited at the border of Bihar and neighbouring state Uttar Pradesh last year. The site hosts a combination of First Solar modules, battery storage and a rice husk-fuelled biomass boiler deployed by local firm Husk Power Systems, reducing power bills and allowing businesses to run reliably through the clock.

Tags: bihar, india, tender, ssfa19, breda