Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam (GUVNL) has issued an invitation for bids to set up 500 MW/1000 MWh standalone battery energy storage systems (BESS) under tariff-based competitive bidding (Phase VI). The deadline for bid submissions is February 24, 2025, with bids to be opened on February 28. Bidders are required to submit a document fee of Rs 29,500 and a document processing fee of Rs 1.5 million plus 18% GST. An earnest money deposit of Rs 500,000 and a performance bank guarantee of Rs 1.25 million per MW are also required. The scope includes setting up BESS that will be available to GUVNL for charging and discharging on-demand. Developers must interconnect the storage system with the state transmission network. The minimum bid size is 100 MWh (50 MW x 2 hours), with additional bid sizes in multiples of 50 MW/100 MWh. The BESS must be able to charge and discharge at a C rate of 0.5 and operate in groups ranging from 50 MW/100 MWh to 100 MW/200 MWh up to the total rated capacity. It will draw power from Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation (GETCO) for charging and inject power back based on dispatch instructions from the State Load Dispatch Centre (SLDC) in coordination with GUVNL. Developers are expected to ensure two operational cycles per day and guarantee a minimum system availability of 95% annually. Additionally, they must ensure AC to AC roundtrip efficiency of 85% on a monthly basis. Bidders must have operational technologies that minimize risk and ensure timely project commissioning. Their net worth should be at least Rs 7.4 million per MW of the quoted capacity as of the last date of the previous financial year or at least seven days before the bid submission deadline. In December 2024, Kintech Synergy, H.G Infra Engineering, Bhilwara Energy (LNJ Bhilwara Group), and Advait Infratech won GUVNL’s 500 MW/1000 MWh Phase IV standalone BESS auction. GUVNL also issued the Phase V tender in October 2024 for 200 MW/1600 MWh standalone BESS projects in Gujarat. (Mercom)