West Bengal’s Department of Power, on behalf of West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL), has floated a tender for the development of 500 MW/2,000 MWh standalone battery storage systems (BESS). The BESS will be located across four substations. The DPL substation in Paschim Bardhaman, with a connectivity voltage level of 220 kV, accounts for the largest share with 200 MW/800 MWh capacity. The remaining three projects: Kharagpur in Paschim Medinipur, Hooghly-Arambag in Hooghly, and Jeerat in North 24 Parganas will each have a capacity of 100 MW/400 MWh, with a connectivity voltage level of 132 kV.
According to the tender guidelines, the scope of work includes the installation of the BESS and its integration with WBSEDCL’s distribution network. It also involves ensuring that the energy storage system is available to WBSEDCL for on-demand charging and discharging. Successful bidders will be required to obtain a separate metered connection from WBSEDCL to meet the auxiliary power requirements of the battery storage systems. Additionally, the BESS will be technology agnostic.
The storage systems are required to be commissioned within 18 months from the effective date of the battery energy storage purchase agreement (BESPA). Furthermore, the BESPA will remain valid for a period of 15 years from the date of project commissioning. The bidders are required to pay a document fee of Rs 500,000 along with a document processing fee of Rs 2,500. The project will be implemented under a build-own-operate model.
