Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam (GUVNL) has invited bids to set up 335 MW/670 MWh of standalone battery energy storage systems (BESS) in Gujarat (Phase VIII).

Bids must be submitted by January 22, 2026. Bids will be opened on January 28.

Bidders must furnish an earnest money deposit of ₹500,000 (~$6,024)/MW and the tender fee of ₹29,500 (~$355), inclusive of GST.

Successful bidders must submit a performance bank guarantee of ₹1.25 million (~$15,060)/MW.

The scope of work includes the design, financing, supply, installation, testing, commissioning, operation, and maintenance of a standalone, utility-scale BESS.

The minimum bid size is 130 MWh (65 MW x 2 hours).

Projects must be located at or near Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation’s (GETCO) intra-state transmission system substations.

Bidders must identify and arrange land for the project. Interconnection is required at a minimum voltage of 66 kV, as stipulated by GETCO.

The projects will receive viability gap funding (VGF) of ₹1.8 million (~$21,687)/MWh of awarded capacity, under the Power System Development Fund. The VGF will be disbursed in three tranches: 20% at financial closure against a 24-month bank guarantee, 50% at the commercial operation date (COD) against a 12-month bank guarantee, and the remaining 30% after one year from COD, with no bank guarantee required.

The battery energy storage purchase agreement’s (BESPA) duration is 12 years from full commissioning, and the scheduled commissioning date is 18 months from the BESPA’s effective date.

Bidders must also have commissioned BESS capacity of at least 10 MWh or at least a 1 MW conventional or renewable power project.

They must also have set up transmission lines or substations from 765 kV to 66 kV, with a cumulative project cost of at least ₹1 billion (~$12.05 million).

Bidders must have a minimum net worth of ₹7.4 million (~$89,157)/MW of quoted capacity, to be demonstrated based on the previous financial year or within 7 days before bid submission.

Liquidated damages will apply for delays in commissioning and for availability shortfalls. Performance-linked liquidated damages are specified for availability falling below 95% and for round-trip efficiency below 85%.

The tender mandates a minimum local content requirement of 20% of the total project cost, including energy management system software.

In July this year, GUVNL issued a tender to develop a 2,000 MW/4000 MWh of standalone BESS across Gujarat (Phase VII).

India added 48.4 MWh of energy storage capacity in the first half (1H) of 2025, a 74% decline from 186 MWh added in the same period last year, according to Mercom India Research’s India’s Energy Storage Landscape 1H 2025 Report.