The National Water Commission (NWC) of Jamaica has initiated a procurement for delivery of solar PV systems from international bidders in order to reduce its dependency on fossil fuels.

A pre-qualification round was initiated on 22 August, through which international private, public and government-owned entities were invited to apply. Government-owned entities must, however show that they are legally and financially autonomous.

The NWC is seeking to procure a total of seven solar PV facilities comprising 2.18MW of generation divided into three separate lots. The first lot calls for a 500kW system at the commission’s Forrest Hill facility, and 250kW systems at the Hope Filter and Mona Filter plants. Also in Lot 1 is a 90kW system at the NWC Oxford Road office and a 60kW system at its Portmore office.

Lot 2 comprises a 300kW system for the Independence City wastewater facility, 200kW at Bridgewater Wastewater and 30kW for the Hamilton Gardens Wastewater plant. The third lot calls for a 500kW system at the Martha Brae Treatment Plant.

In order to prequalify, bidders must show they have raised an aggregate of at least $4.5 million from non-related companies in the last five years. Bidders must have general construction and design experience on at least two solar PV facilities 500kW or larger. They must also have experience in SCADA/DCS control systems and experience in the operation and maintenance of PV systems, the documents said.

Pre-qualification packets must be received by NWC no later than 20 October 2016.

A timeline for the following procurement phases was not given, though the construction period for the facilities is six months after the award of a contract, according to procurement documents.