The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has issued a tender for enlisting solar photovoltaic (PV) module manufacturers and suppliers. The enlisted manufacturers or suppliers will supply modules for NTPC’s self-owned solar PV projects.

Last date of submitting the enlistment application is December 11, 2018. The scope of work includes the manufacture, supply, packing and forwarding, transportation, and storage at the project site.

The specification for the solar PV modules must be crystalline with a minimum 300 Wp nominal rating and thin film based with a minimum 112.5 Wp nominal rating.

This is an international tender and any module manufacturer or supplier can participate, an NTPC official told Mercom.

The NTPC official also added, “Once the vendors are enlisted, we will issue tenders for the supply of solar PV modules for specific projects where they will participate.”

“Now, even for EPC contracts, there has been a slight change in how NTPC awards contracts, in order to focus on increasing the quality. Now for self-owned projects, the NTPC will be procuring modules separately and awarding the remaining contract to an EPC contractor,” added the official.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Project Tracker, NTPC has 874 MW of commissioned solar projects in the country. In the recent auction for 550 MW of solar projects by the  Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA), NTPC quoted the lowest tariff of ₹3.02 (~$0.0431)/kWh to develop 85 MW of grid-connected solar PV projects.

In September 2018, NTPC had invited bids for solar module package for the development of Anta solar project located at Baran district in Rajasthan.

Recently, Mercom analyzed how the solar industry is gradually shifting towards monocrystalline cell technology from the more common multicrystalline cells and modules.