The South East Central Railway is seeking bids for the empanelment of agencies to implement grid-connected rooftop solar projects in the Raipur Division. These projects, totalling 2.185 MW, will be developed through a public-private partnership and on a design, build, finance, operate, and transfer basis.The projects will be divided into two capacity ranges: more than 10 kW and up to 100 kW, and more than 100 kW and up to 500 kW.Developers must ensure that the projects are commissioned within 240 days of receiving the work order. Additionally, they are required to provide comprehensive operation and maintenance services for a period of 25 years.The deadline for submitting bids is July 18, 2023, with the bid opening taking place on the same day.To participate, bidders must furnish an earnest money deposit of Rs 1.07 million ($13,047) per MW of the quoted capacity.Once selected, the successful bidders must submit a performance security of Rs 1.6 million ($19,509) per MW of the quoted capacity within 30 days of signing the power purchase agreement (PPA).Furthermore, the selected bidders are responsible for providing a bid process management fee of Rs 75,000 ($914) per MW of the awarded capacity within 30 days of signing the PPA.The empanelment will be valid for one year, with the possibility of extension for another year based on the developer's performance and requests from the zonal railways.The generated solar power will be solely utilised through the net metering system by the Railways.To be eligible, bidders must have prior experience installing a minimum aggregate capacity of 200 kW of grid-connected solar rooftop systems in either a developer or engineering procurement and construction (EPC) mode before the bid submission deadline.Alternatively, bidders with experience installing and commissioning a minimum aggregate capacity of 1 MW of any grid-connected systems as a developer or an EPC contractor in various sectors can also submit their bids. These sectors include residential, social, industrial, commercial, government, or any other client.Bidders must have maintained an average annual turnover of Rs 15 million ($182,903) during the last three years and should have had a positive net worth throughout the same period.Upon receiving the letter of award, the successful bidder will enter into a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the railways. In certain cases, the PPA may need to be signed at a divisional level if required by public utilities or zonal railways.It is important to note that this tender does not include any central financial assistance.In a separate development, the South Eastern Railway recently invited bids for the empanelment of agencies to set up 13.54 MW of grid-connected rooftop solar projects in the railway zones of Odisha, Jharkhand, and West Bengal.