Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (GUVNL) has concluded its Phase Nine tender for 450 MW/900 MWh of standalone battery energy storage system (BESS) capacity, with the lowest discovered tariff of Rs 231,989 per MW per month. This figure equates to Rs 0.232 mn per MW per month when converted from the reported two point three two lakh figure. The tender covers both power and energy specifications expressed in megawatt (MW) and megawatt-hour (MWh).

NLC India Renewables Ltd emerged as the lowest bidder at Rs 231,989 per MW per month with a bid quantity of 275 MW, while Sun Drops Energia Ltd followed at Rs 231,990 per MW per month with a bid quantity of 410 MW. GUVNL had sought developers to supply 450 MW of capacity paired with 900 MWh of storage across the awarded projects. The procurement sought commercially operated standalone systems capable of grid integration.

The projects will be developed on a build-own-operate (BOO) basis and will provide energy storage services to GUVNL on an on-demand basis, supporting state distribution companies during peak and off-peak periods. Selected developers will be required to connect standalone BESS projects to the state grid and to make storage capacity available to GUVNL for charging and discharging as required. Each system must be capable of completing two full charge-discharge cycles per day.

GUVNL will enter into battery energy storage purchase agreements (BESPAs) with successful bidders and the projects are eligible for viability gap funding (VGF) under the Power System Development Fund (PSDF) scheme. The allocation of capacity in the Phase Nine exercise aims to bolster flexibility for the state grid and to support integration of variable renewable generation. Developers will be obliged to meet contractual availability and performance criteria specified in the tender documents.