The Bundelkhand Saur Urja Limited (BSUL), a joint venture between NHPC Limited (NHPCL) and Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Development Agency (UPNEDA) has invited bids for consultants to draft a detailed project report for a 1.2 GW solar park in Jalaun, Uttar Pradesh. Additionally, the consultants would be required to carry out engineering services, wind, and solar resource assessments, estimating energy yields, and optimising plot sizing and layout. Applicants are eligible if they have previously offered consultancy services for the development of a solar, wind, or wind-solar hybrid park of a capacity of at least 500 MW and projects with a cumulative capacity of 1 GW in the last five years. Further, they must have a net worth of Rs 5 million services and an annual turnover of at least Rs 50 million in the last three financial years. Prospective bidders must submit an earnest money deposit of Rs.76,000. The deadline for submission of bids is November 16, 2020.
The 1.2 GW solar park had been approved in-principal by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy with an investment of Rs 4,800 million. This announcement highlights the Uttar Pradesh Government’s push to develop 10.7 GW of solar energy by 2022. It has been proposed that 6 GW of this capacity will be developed in the Bundelkhand region. This includes 4 GW of projects in the region’s green corridor as well as a 2 GW ultra-mega renewables park. NHPCL,too, hadannounced in June 2020 that it would diversify the company’s business by taking up solar projects across the country. In October 2020, NHPCLfloated an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) tender for 65 MW of solar projects along with a 132 kV power evacuation facility at Parasan village in Jalaun district of Uttar Pradesh.