UP To Use Hybrid Rooftop Solar For Govt Buildings, Issues Tender

The Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA) has issued a tender to accelerate the adoption of hybrid rooftop solar systems. The state’s nodal agency for clean energy plans to deploy these systems on government buildings.

Hybrid rooftop solar systems integrate grid-connected rooftop solar installations with additional battery backup. This setup enables the use of solar power during outages and at night, ensuring optimal utilization of the solar plants even in the event of grid failures.

UPNEDA aims to install on-grid hybrid rooftop solar systems with capacities ranging from 11 kW to 50 kW. These projects will be implemented under the CAPEX model. To this end, UPNEDA is seeking solar vendors to undertake these installations. The tender also mandates a five-year Operations and Maintenance (O&M) period after the commissioning of the plants. The submission deadline for the tender is November 29.

This initiative is expected to boost the deployment of hybrid inverters, which have so far struggled to gain a foothold in the rooftop solar market. The UPNEDA tender specifies that the solar modules and cells must be manufactured in India.

“The Modules and Cells should be manufactured in India and should comply with the prevailing MNRE Approved List of Models and manufacturers of Solar Photovoltaic Modules and subsequent amendments and clarifications issued by MNRE shall be applicable for this Bid. The Successful Bidder must procure Solar PV Modules from MNRE ALMM List as per the UPNEDA office order no 144 dated 08.04.2024,” the tender documents read.

The tender also highlights the need for a module efficiency of 19% or higher. Regarding batteries, it specifies that Lithium Ferro Phosphate (LFP) batteries must be used in these hybrid rooftop solar plants.