Punjab State Power Corporation (PSPCL) has invited bids to set up 500 MW/1,000 MWh standalone battery energy storage systems (BESS).

The last date to submit bids is February 13. Bids will be opened on February 16.

Bidders must submit an earnest money deposit of ₹471,000 (~$5,218)/MW and a performance bank guarantee of ₹1.17 million (~$12,965)/MW.

Alternatively, bidders may submit a letter of undertaking from Power Finance Corporation or REC stating that the organization will be responsible for payment of the encashed portion of the guarantee. They may also submit an insurance surety bond from an insurer as per guidelines issued by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India.

Bidders must also furnish a bid document fee of ₹50,000 (~$554) plus GST and a bid processing fee of ₹300,000 (~$3,325) plus GST.

The scope of work covers the setting up of the BESS to make stored power available to the buying entity/PSPCL for charging and discharging on a demand basis.

Successful bidders must set up 250 MW/500 MWh BESS at each of the Ablowal and Laltonkalan substations.

The project scope also includes connecting the BESS with the state transmission utility at the 220 kV level.

Successful bidders must bear the entire cost of the transmission infrastructure from the project site to the interconnection point, including expenses for constructing a new bay at PSPCL/Punjab State Transmission Corporation (PSTCL), busbar extension or augmentation, and protection relay augmentation, with the installation of a protection and control panel.

Selected bidders must also bear all operation and maintenance costs of the projects and all costs up to the delivery point.

The BESS will be charged by drawing power from the PSPCL/PSTCL network and discharged by injecting power into the network in accordance with dispatch instructions issued by the state load dispatch center (SLDC).

The tender mandates the use of an indigenous-developed application software for the energy management system. The BESS must also meet fire-safety standards and maintain noise levels below 80 decibels.

PSPCL/PSTCL will provide land for the BESS projects on a lease or right-to-use basis at an annual lease charge of ₹1 (~$0.011)/acre.

The projects must be designed for two operational cycles per day and capable of discharging power during any 15-minute time block, as per the SLDC-provided schedules.

The BESS must ensure a minimum system availability of 95% per month and an AC-to-AC round-trip efficiency of at least 85%. Selected bidders must declare round-trip efficiency on a day-ahead basis.

The BESS must be capable of operating in the 47.5 Hz to 52 Hz frequency range and deliver the rated output in both charging and discharging modes within the 49.5 Hz to 50.5 Hz range. It must also operate under voltage dips or rises at the interconnection point.

The BESS must provide dynamically varying reactive power support, primary frequency control with adjustable droop, and an immediate real-power response of at least 10% of maximum capacity within one second for frequency deviations exceeding 0.3 Hz.

Successful bidders will sign a battery energy storage purchase agreement (BESPA) for 12 years from the scheduled commissioning date.

The successful bidder must either ensure a separate metered connection for auxiliary power from the PSPCL’s divisional commissioner’s office or obtain free power from the interconnection point using a dedicated meter.

The projects must be commissioned within 18 months of signing the battery energy storage purchase agreement. The maximum allowed project extension, including liquidated damages, is nine months. The projects must attain financial closure within six months of signing the BESPA.

The projects must use only commercially established and operational technologies to minimize technology risk and ensure timely commissioning.

Successful bidders must have a minimum net worth of ₹4.7 million (~$52,075)/ MW in the last financial year or at least seven days before the bid submission deadline.

Bidders must meet at least one of the following financial criteria:

• A minimum annual turnover of ₹5.29 million (~$58,626)/MW in the last financial year or at least seven days before the submission deadline
• Internal resource generation capability, in the form of profit before depreciation, interest, and taxes, of at least ₹1.05 million (~$11,636)/MW

• In-principle sanction letter from lending institutions or banks committing a line of credit of at least ₹1.3 million (~$14,401)/ MW toward meeting working capital requirements

Recently, PSPCL issued a request for selection to set up 250 MW/500 MWh standalone BESS in Bhatinda, Punjab.

According to the ‘Levelized Cost of Storage and Bidding Trends in Indian Energy Storage Projects’ report released by Mercom India Research, only 50% of the standalone BESS projects evaluated showed positive project economics and economic viability under modeled assumptions.