Under the Indian Railway Solar Mission, the Northern Railways has invited developers for setting up of 4.715 MW of rooftop installations. This tender consists of 133 installations of 10 kW (1.330 MW) and 677 installations of 5 kW (3.385 MW), totaling 4.715 MW, which would be installed on D and E category railway stations.

The bid opening date has been fixed for May 23, 2019, with the last date for bid submission fixed for June 6, 2019.

The project completion period has been set for nine months, with an earnest money deposit (EMD) of ₹ 1.46 million ($20,941.3). The total advertised value of the tender is ₹262.4 million (~$3.76 million).

The detailed scope of work includes the supply, installation, testing, and commissioning of 133 numbers of 10 kW units each and  677 numbers of 5 kW each of grid-connected rooftop solar PV projects at various locations across D and E category railway stations under the northern railways.

The package includes solar PV modules, grid-interactive power conditioning, mounting structures, junction boxes, earthing and lightning safety measures, IR/UV protected PVC cables, all accessories, bidirectional electronic meters (of 0.5 S Class), and reverse power relay to be provided by the bidder, unless given by the DISCOM.

Earlier, the Northern Railways had issued tenders for setting up 5 MW of solar rooftop installations at  New Delhi, Old Delhi, Anand Vihar, and Hazrat Nizamuddin railway stations with the objective of generating electricity for self-use. The power purchase agreements for these were signed on November 16, 2016, between the solar developer, Vivaan Solar and Northern Railways for 25 years at a tariff of ₹4.14 (~$0.06)/kWh.

Earlier, the Railway Energy Management Company Limited (REMCL), a joint venture of the Indian Railways and RITES Limited, had invited bids for setting up of 2 MW of solar projects along the Delhi-Ambala railway track. The projects, to be located near Diwana station, will follow tariff-based competitive bidding. The successful bidder will sign a power purchase agreement with the Northern Railways for a period of 25 years, Mercom had reported.

The Indian Railways is the single largest consumer of electricity with roughly 2% share of national energy consumption, and it is gradually turning towards reducing its carbon footprints. Mercom had reported earlier that the Railways would soon launch tenders to set up large-scale solar power projects, inching closer towards its overall solar power target of 5 GW. The 5 GW capacity will consist of utility-scale and rooftop solar power projects.

Soumik is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Prior to joining Mercom, Soumik was a correspondent for UNI, New Delhi covering the Northeast region for seven years. He has also worked as an Asia Correspondent for Washington DC-based Hundred Reporters. He has contributed as a freelancer to several national and international digital publications with a focus on data-based investigative stories on environmental corruption, hydro power projects, energy transition and the circular economy. Soumik is an Economics graduate from Scottish Church College, Calcutta University.