NPCL Floats Tender for 80 MW/320 MWh BESS in Greater Noida

Noida Power Company Ltd. (NPCL) has invited bids to set up an 80 MW/320 MWh standalone battery energy storage system (BESS) in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, under a 12-year contract. The project will comprise four units of 20 MW each, with a four-hour storage duration, and will be developed under the build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) model.

The tender proposes to select BESS developers through tariff-based competitive bidding, followed by an e-reverse auction. The storage facility will be made available to the distribution company for charging and discharging on an “on-demand” basis, depending on its requirements.

Under the BOOT arrangement, the selected developer will be responsible for setting up, operating and maintaining the BESS, including its interconnection with NPCL’s distribution network and the safety of equipment and personnel. At the end of the 12-year agreement, the project will be transferred to NPCL in working condition, on an “as is where is” basis, for INR 1.

NPCL will procure 100 percent of the contracted capacity, which is specified in power terms. For the full project, the contracted capacity will be 80 MW/320 MWh, allowing the company to schedule up to 320 MWh of discharge in each operating cycle. The BESS developer will be required to make the system available for one complete charge-discharge cycle per day. NPCL may schedule the discharge in one or two sessions, with the total duration not exceeding four hours a day.

The tender places a minimum monthly system availability requirement of 95 percent on the developer. Availability will be assessed based on the system’s ability to carry out charging or discharging when instructed by the procurer. If the developer fails to make the contracted capacity available, it will have to pay liquidated damages equivalent to twice the capacity charges for the unavailable capacity.

The developer must also guarantee the system’s AC-to-AC round-trip efficiency on a monthly basis. Liquidated damages will apply in case of excess conversion losses against the guaranteed efficiency. NPCL will provide the charging energy required for the scheduled discharge, including the additional energy needed to account for conversion losses based on the system’s guaranteed round-trip efficiency. The developer will also have to maintain the minimum dispatchable energy capacity specified in the tender as the battery degrades over the contract period.

The BESS may use any charging source, including conventional power and electricity purchased from the market. However, the tender clarifies that energy stored using a source other than renewable power will not qualify as renewable energy. The developer will be responsible for submitting power schedules and revisions at the relevant State Load Despatch Centre (SLDC) interfaces. Deviation settlement mechanism (DSM) penalties and applicable reactive power charges will also be borne by the developer.

NPCL has identified project locations in Greater Noida in Annexure E of the tender. These include KP-5, ESS-1; the 220 kV ESS land at BZP; and Knowledge Park-IV/RC Green. The annexure lists land parcels and available bay space, while stating that the exact land to be allotted for the BESS will be decided by NPCL. The company has also reserved the right to revise the project locations and substation details before bid submission.

The selected developers will be required to apply for connectivity at the identified substation within 30 days of the issuance of the Letter of Award. The projects must comply with applicable connectivity procedures and obtain the required clearances, including charging and safety approvals from the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), before commissioning.

The scheduled commissioning date is 18 months from the effective date of the Battery Energy Storage Purchase Agreement (BESPA). The tender provides for an additional period of up to six months beyond the scheduled or extended commissioning date, subject to applicable liquidated damages. If the project remains uncommissioned after this additional period, the affected capacity may be removed from the BESPA and the contract for the remaining uncommissioned capacity terminated.

For financial qualification, bidders must demonstrate a minimum net worth of INR 74 lakh per MW of quoted capacity. For the entire 80 MW project, this translates into a net-worth requirement of INR 59.2 crore. They must also meet at least one of three liquidity conditions: annual turnover of INR 18.5 lakh per MW, profit before depreciation, interest and taxes (PBDIT) of INR 3.7 lakh per MW, or an in-principle credit line of INR 4.62 lakh per MW. These requirements will be assessed against the quoted capacity.

The tender specifies an earnest money deposit (EMD) of INR 7.4 lakh per MW through a bank guarantee. Developers will also have to furnish a performance bank guarantee of INR 18.5 lakh per MW per project. The document permits bidders to propose commercially established and operational battery technologies, subject to meeting the technical and performance requirements specified in the RfS.

NPCL has scheduled the online pre-bid meeting for November 18. The deadline for online bid submission is December 9, 2026. while offline documents must be submitted by December 11. The techno-commercial bids will be opened on December 11. The date and time of the e-reverse auction will be communicated separately to eligible bidders.

The financial bids will be evaluated on the basis of the capacity charges quoted by bidders, with the e-reverse auction forming the next stage of the selection process.