Kerala’s 1kW Rooftop Solar Systems to be Available at Rs 53,651

The lowest bid received by the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) for residential rooftop solar systems of up to 1 kW has been discovered to be ₹53,651/kW.

In February this year, KSEB floated a tender to empanel contractors for providing EPC (engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services for 200 MW of grid-connected residential rooftop solar systems in Kerala.

The different categories of projects, along with the lowest bid received for each, are as follows: Part A (Up to 1 kW), ₹53,651/kW; Part B (1 to 2 kW), ₹49,000/kW; Part C (2 to 3 kW), ₹48,000/kW, Part D (3 to 10 kW), ₹48,949/kW; Part E (10 to 100 kW), ₹43,499/kW; and Part F (100 to 500 kW), ₹39,900/kW.

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According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s (MNRE) guidelines, central financial assistance (CFA) of 40% on the benchmark cost will be provided for systems up to 3 kW. For systems above 3 kW and up to 10 kW, a CFA of 40% will be applicable for only the first 3 kW capacity, and for others, it will be 20%.

For group housing societies and residential welfare associations, the CFA will be limited to 20% for common facilities up to 500 kW.

For rooftop solar systems in the range of 1 kW to 500 kW, seven suppliers were empaneled, which include Tata Power Solar System, Power One Micro Systems, Druidic Energy, Ishaan Solar Power, Bingas Electrical Electronics and Solar System, Kondass Automation, and BSS Solar.

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These projects, which will be executed to fulfil the state’s renewable purchase obligation, will be developed under the ‘Soura Subsidy Program’ being implemented by the Kerala government, aimed at adding 1,000 MW of solar projects to the existing capacity of KSEB by 2022. The subsidy program agrees well with the objectives of the Phase II Subsidy Program of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and will feature only those projects that use indigenously manufactured solar modules (both cells and modules) alone.

The project has to be commissioned within three months of the receipt of the orders from individual customers. The minimum installed capacity at a single location should be 1 kW. The projects up to 30 kW must be commissioned within three months from the EPC order date, and projects above 30 kW should be commissioned within six months.

Additionally, the cost of setting up infrastructure for the solar generation facility to the interconnection point and data acquisition, including the communication facility, will be borne by the contractor.