NTPC issues Tenders for 36MW Solar in Gujarat and Telangana

The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has tendered a total of 36 MW of grid-connected solar projects to be developed in the states of Telangana and Gujarat.

The state-owned power distribution company is looking for an engineering procurement construction (EPC) contractor to develop a 21 MW grid-connected solar PV project in Gandhar, Gujarat and another EPC contractor to develop 15 MW of grid-connected solar PV project in Ramagundam, Telangana. The bid-submission deadline for these tenders is July 26 and July 30, 2018 respectively.

Both the projects will be funded by the NTPC from its own resources and development will include designing, EPC, testing and commissioning. Upon completion, winning bidders will be in-charge of successful operations and maintenance of the plant for a period of 3 years.

At present NTPC according to market estimates has close to 870 MW of projects in operation and another 750 MW of projects in the pipeline, most of which will come up in Andhra Pradesh as part of the Ananthapuram Ultra Mega Solar Park with a tentative capacity of 750 MW.  Having also recently declared its 4th quarter results which saw a marked improvement of 41% year on year for profit after tax, which was close to 30 billion rupees.

These projects will be a part of the 2 GW of projects that the company commissioned this year in a bid to diversify away from its existing thermal power capacity, plagued in recent times by both generation and realisations issues.  While its dominance in thermal is a legacy of its past, 2018-19 could be the year when observers get a clearer fix on the national utility’s long term vision and plans for renewables.