India, Sri Lanka offer battery tenders: Standalone 500 MWh in Odisha, 20 MWh hybrid solar plant in

India: Solar Energy Corp. of India Ltd (SECI), on behalf of GRIDCO, has invited proposals for setting up six grid-connected standalone battery energy storage system (BESS) projects with a cumulative storage capacity of 500 MWh (125 MW x 4 hours) in Odisha. The capacity allocation includes five projects of 20 MW/80 MWh each and one project of 25 MW/100 MWh.

GRIDCO will enter into a battery energy storage purchase agreement (BESPA) with the successful bidders for providing energy storage services. The projects will be eligible for viability gap funding (VGF) supported through the Power System Development Fund (PSDF) scheme of the Ministry of Power.

GRIDCO has been designated as the implementing agency for Odisha, while SECI will act as the bid process coordinator and bidding agency for carrying out the bidding process on behalf of GRIDCO Ltd.

The selected BESS developers will set up, operate, and maintain the storage systems, and make the capacity available to GRIDCO for charging and discharging on an on-demand basis, and use identified substations. Interconnection of the BESS with the state transmission utility network also falls within the scope for the developer.

Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka’s Trincomalee Power Company (TPCL), a 50:50 joint venture between the Ceylon Electricity Board and India’s NTPC, has issued an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) tender for the first phase of a ground mounted solar photovoltaic project at Sampoor in the Trincomalee region.

The Phase I project is sized at 50 MW and requires installation of a battery energy storage system with a minimum capacity of 20 MW / 20 MWh . Bids must be submitted by February 18, 2026, and the tender requires a bid security of $585,000 and a bid document fee of $250. The contract completion period for the EPC package has been set at 21 months.

The EPC scope covers design, engineering, supply, installation, testing, and commissioning of the solar power plant. This includes the supply of solar modules and a battery energy storage system, as well as operation and maintenance (O&M) of the entire facility, for five years from commissioning.

In terms of other conditions, bidders must have various expertise fro mat least two solar projects of 50 MW or larger on an EPC basis, plus They must also demonstrate operation and maintenance experience for one or more solar projects with an aggregate capacity of at least 50 MW, with a minimum of two years of operation in the fifteen years preceding the bid opening date.

With pv magazine India.