Solar Energy Corporation of India tenders for floating solar, 60MWh storage on Lakshadweep islands

Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has issued a sizeable solar-plus-storage tender for the island archipelago of Lakshadweep involving 20MWac of floating solar projects coupled with 60MWh of battery energy storage systems.

The scope of the work includes design, engineering, supply, construction, erection, testing and commissioning of the projects at various locations as well as 10 years of operations and maintenance (O&M) services. The locations and capacities are as follows:

The total package of the tender will be awarded to a single bidder through a reverse auction.

SECI wants to develop clean energy projects under its ownership across the 11 islands of the union territory of Lakshadweep, as it announced in mid-January, with an aim of powering the inhabited islands in Lakshadweep partly or wholly through renewable energy sources.

The deadline for bid submissions is 1 April this year.

In November 2017, the Lakshadweep Energy Development Authority (LEDA) also invited Expressions of Interest (EoI) for the development of 10MW of floating solar plants on the islands.

SECI has also prepared the first tender under its Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) scheme that mandates the use of locally-sourced cells and modules. This 1GW tender, supported by viability gap funding (VGF), will be available on 28 February.

The organisation has also said that a 97.5MW of grid-connected rooftop PV tender for government buildings across the country under the CAPEX or RESCO models will be made available on 21 February.