NTPC’s renewable energy arm has floated two major EPC tenders. NTPC Renewable Energy Limited (NTPC REL) has invited bids for a 1,000 MW ground-mounted solar PV project at Kambadur in Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, while its parent company, NTPC Green Energy Limited (NGEL), has tendered a 1,100 MW/3,300 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) at NTPC REL’s Khavda solar plant in Gujarat. Both packages will be awarded through domestic competitive bidding.
1 GW Solar PV Project at Kambadur, Anantapur
Tender at a glance
- Issuer: NTPC REL, a wholly owned subsidiary of NGEL
- IFB No.: NRE-CS-5852-004(EPC)-9, dated 29 September 2026 (ETS Search Code: NTPCREL-2026-TN000039)
- Configuration: 1,000 MW, to be executed tentatively as two blocks of 500 MW each
- Bidding process: Single-stage, two-envelope (techno-commercial bid and price bid), followed by reverse auction
- Bidding documents: Available from 15 October 2026; sale closes 30 October 2026, 5:00 PM
- Bid submission deadline: 16 November 2026, 3:00 PM; bids open the same day at 3:30 PM
The EPC contractor will handle design, engineering, manufacturing, supply (including solar PV modules), transportation, installation, testing and commissioning, along with site grading, vegetation clearing, topographic survey and, if necessary, geotechnical investigation.
The plant will use tracker-based module mounting structures, with the contractor responsible for their foundations and erection, and for fixing and interconnecting the modules. The scope also covers inverter stations with power conditioning units and LT/HT switchgear, a central monitoring and control station, a SCADA system with a weather monitoring station that includes cloud-cover measurement, a dry module-cleaning system, CCTV covering the full periphery, internal roads, drainage and block fencing.
For power evacuation, the contractor must execute all electrical and civil works for interfacing with the 400 kV grid, including the pooling substation (PSS) and power transformer, and build a transmission line of approximately 60 km from the plant to the substation. Dynamic reactive power compensation is required in line with the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) working group report of July 2022 on verifying RE generators’ compliance with grid connectivity standards, along with a grid compliance study. Three years of operation and maintenance (O&M) after commissioning, plus mandatory spares, are included.
3,300 MWh BESS at NTPC REL’s Khavda Solar Plant
Tender at a glance
- Issuer: NGEL, a subsidiary of NTPC Limited
- IFB No.: NGEL-CS-5779-004(BESS1R)-9, dated 23 September 2026
- Capacity: 1,100 MW/3,300 MWh (three-hour duration), developed as a single EPC package of four independently evaluable blocks at Pooling Sub-Station-1 (PSS-1), Khavda
- Block-wise split: Blocks 1, 2 and 3 – 300 MW/900 MWh each; Block 4 – 200 MW/600 MWh
- Bidding process: Single-stage, two-envelope, followed by reverse auction
- Bidding documents: Available from 1 October 2026; sale closes 12 October 2026, 3:00 PM
- Bid submission deadline: 27 October 2026, 3:00 PM; bids open the same day at 3:30 PM
This is a re-tender. NGEL first issued an NIT for the same 3,300 MWh package (NGEL-CS-5779-004(BESS1)-9) on 29 May 2026, with bids then due on 15 July 2026.
Each block will connect at the 33 kV level of a designated solar plant, with the owner’s 33 kV pooling switchgear as the terminal point. The stated capacities are the deliverable AC capacity to be demonstrated at the point of interconnection (POI) at commercial operation, so bidders must size the nameplate capacity to cover auxiliary consumption and losses, including 1% for the power transformer and 0.25% for the transmission line.
Performance requirements
- Design life: 25 years for the BESS, including batteries, based on one charge–discharge cycle per day
- Capacity guarantee: Dispatchable energy at the POI starts at 100% at COD, with a minimum of 98% at the end of Year 1, declining by two percentage points each year to 70% at the end of Year 15
- Efficiency: Minimum monthly round-trip efficiency (RTE) of 80%, including auxiliary consumption
- Availability: 98% annual system availability
- O&M: Comprehensive O&M, warranty and annual maintenance for 15 years
Bidders must also conduct the grid compliance study, ensure power-quality compliance for the combined solar, BESS and evacuation system up to the POI at the ISTS switchyard, and bear the deviation settlement mechanism (DSM) charges attributable to them. The BMS, EMS and fire-safety systems must meet the latest IS, IEC or IEEE standards and CEA, CERC and load despatch centre guidelines.
NGEL will also provide a licensed private bonded warehouse at the project site under Section 58 of the Customs Act, 1962, enabling the contractor to use the Manufacture and Other Operations in Warehouse Regulations (MOOWR), 2019 for eligible imported BESS components. Bidders must factor this benefit into their quoted prices.
The Bigger Picture
Both tenders support NTPC’s target of 60 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2032, with NGEL as the group’s listed renewable energy arm and NTPC REL as its main vehicle for organic growth. At Khavda, NTPC REL is developing the 1,255 MW Khavda-I and 1,200 MW Khavda-II solar PV projects, parts of which were declared commercially operational in early 2026.
Official References
- NTPC Tender Portal – NIT details: EPC Package for 2×500 MW Ground Mounted Solar PV Project at Kambadur, Anantapur, AP
- NTPC REL – Abridged Invitation for Bids, IFB No. NRE-CS-5852-004(EPC)-9
- NTPC Tender Portal – NIT details: EPC Package for Development of 3300 MWh BESS at NTPC REL Khavda Solar Plant
- NGEL – Abridged Invitation for Bids, IFB No. NGEL-CS-5779-004(BESS1R)-9
- NGEL – Salient Technical Features, 1100 MW/3300 MWh BESS at NTPC REL Khavda
- NTPC Tender Portal – Original NIT NGEL-CS-5779-004(BESS1)-9 (May 2026)
- NGEL Press Release – Khavda-II Solar Project Commercial Operation (10 March 2026)
- NTPC – CCEA Approval for Investment in NGEL to Achieve 60 GW RE by 2032 (PIB release, 16 July 2025)
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