NTPC Renewable Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NTPC, has issued an invitation for bids regarding the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) package for the establishment of 630 MW (2x 315 MW) grid-connected solar power projects in Barethi, Madhya Pradesh. The deadline for bid submissions is December 29, 2023, and bids will be unveiled on the same day. Each bid submission must be accompanied by a bid security. The bid security is set at Rs 200 million (~$2.4 million) for a single block (325 MW) and Rs 500 million (~$6 million) for two blocks (2x 325 MW). The project's scope of work encompasses the design, engineering, manufacturing, supply, packing and forwarding, transportation, unloading storage, installation, testing, and commissioning of ground-mounted solar Photovoltaic projects that are grid-connected. This includes open-category photovoltaic modules. The chosen developer will also be entrusted with the comprehensive operation and maintenance of the project for a period of three years. Interested bidders should be experienced developers or possess expertise in designing, supplying, erecting, and commissioning solar projects with a cumulative installed capacity of 40 MW or more. Furthermore, bidders must have completed a project with a capacity of 10 MW or greater, which has been operational for at least six months prior to the bid opening date. Alternatively, bidders can qualify if they have executed an industrial project within the last ten years, either as a developer or an EPC contractor, in sectors such as power, steel, oil, gas, petrochemical, fertiliser, cement, coal mining, or any other process industry. The specified project should have been operational for at least one year in the case of non-renewable energy sector projects or six months for solar/wind sector projects, prior to the bid opening date. Additionally, bidders must have experience in executing at least one electrical substation with a voltage level of 33 kV or higher, inclusive of equipment like 33 kV or above voltage level circuit breakers and power transformers. The substation must have been successfully operational for at least one year (for non-renewable energy sector projects) or six months (for electrical substations in the solar/wind sector) before the bid opening date. In a related development, NTPC Renewable Energy recently called for bids for the EPC package to develop 650 MW of grid-connected solar projects in Bikaner, Rajasthan.