Background

The Grid-Connected Small-Scale Photovoltaic Systems project “Egypt-PV” aims to remove the barriers to increased power generation by small, decentralized, grid-connected PV systems in residential, commercial, industrial, tourism and public buildings sector. The project has been financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) acts as the GEF Implementing Agency. The project is being executed by Industrial Modernization Centre (IMC) of the Ministry of Industry and Foreign Trade, which will assume the overall responsibility for the achievement of project results as UNDP’s Implementing Partner
Scope and purpose

The scope of this document:

To provide a guideline for tendering grid connected small-scale PV systems. These guidelines have been prepared for the benefits of miscellaneous departments and sectors buildings in Egypt. The document is considered as a guiding document, so it is generic and can be tailored as per end user needs, but still it includes the minimum acceptance requirements for optimum performance grid connected PV systems. However, the tenderer shall assume full responsibility for proper and adequate performance of this proposed system, and accordingly, he may propose additional technical merits he believes would be useful to improve system performance where acceptance such additional proposal shall be at the sole discretion of the owner.

The objective of the service contract:
- Design and installation of a 48 kWp Solar Plant in 6 locations as shown in Appendix (4)
- Design, construction and installation of a 52 kWp solar car shading as shown in Appendix (4)
- Supply of all the equipment of the plant and the solar car shading
- Commissioning of the plant
- Conducting hands-on training for the engineers at the Parliament
- Conducting hands-on training for the technicians at the Parliament
- Operation & Maintenance Support of the plant for at least 5 years

List and Description of Expected Outputs to be Delivered
1. Erection of mounting structure & installation of a 48 kWp solar plant
2. Construction of a car shade & installation of a 52 kWp solar plant
3. Commissioning of the solar plant and solar car shading
4. Training of the engineers & technicians of the premises
5. Maintenance plan for the plant

Legal framework within the Egyptian context
There are many applications for solar PV, either on-grid or off-grid. This document focuses on the on-grid PV plants. The on-grid PV plants injects energy units (kWh) to the grid, these energy units’ consumption and production are differentiated and the consumer pays the net metered value.

Net Metering: Net Consumption (kWh) – Net Produced from PV system (kWh) = Value of electricity to be paid by consumer, for more information, data are available here: http://egyptera.org/Downloads/journal/2017/periodical_book5.PDF

Rooftop installation requirements
The PV panels require a shadow free area, the required shadow free area for installing systems varies depending on the site condition. This area includes provision for clearances between solar PV array rows. The solar panels may be installed on the roof of the building with a south facing tilt angle that varies from 20o till 33o.

The variation in the tilt angle doesn’t affect much the system yield like the panel orientation do, so it’s much advisable that panels face SOUTH direction. Some cases require different tilt angles and orientations depending on the site conditions, those cases will be studied to ensure the best performance ratio and system productivity. The installed PV plants shall be cleaned sufficiently, regarding its erection area, i.e. installing PV plant in desert area will require more cleaning rather than in urban areas. On the other hand, its life time should be considered also, i.e. 1-year lifetime will require a piece of cloth and clean, 3 years will have required rinsing panels with water, while 7 years’ lifetime may require chemical materials to clean the panels.

The PV solar inverter is from grid-connected type, as any electronic device it requires to be installed in a place away from dust, air, and rain. Moreover, it should be placed in an accessible and safely placed, unless the inverter has high IP and doesn’t need to be placed indoors.

1 INTRODUCTION
In the framework of the cooperation protocol which was signed between the IMC and the Parliament for implementing a number of projects within the context of Grid-Connected Small-Scale Photovoltaic Systems “Egypt – PV” The Parliament hereinafter referred to as the "Owner" intends to acquire Photovoltaic (PV) grid-connected system for Parliament building at Cairo city, as follows:
 100 KWp PV power system to supply the building internal lighting, connected to the building internal electrical Network through Grid Tie Inverter.

Tenderers are invited to submit their offers for the Supply, Installation and startup the PV system in accordance with the technical specifications of the required PV system.

2 SITE AND LOCATION OF THE REQUIRED PV SYSTEM
The Parliament buildings is located in Cairo along Al-Falaki Street.
A Guideline layout of the parliament facility building is shown in appendix (4) where the proposed locations for installing the PV system is as follow:

3 Technical Specifications

3.1 General technical Requirements:
The general design requirements shall consider the following:

3.1.1 The PV power system will be designed to yield the maximum possible amount of energy on yearly average basis.
3.1.2 The PV support structure should be designed to a fixed tilt angle equal to the latitude angle of the site. However slightly different tilt angles may be proposed but should be clearly justified and would be accepted at the discretion of the owner.
3.1.3 The overall system design and its components shall be commercially available and shall conform to acceptable commercial and international industry practice.
3.1.4 The installed system should be complaint with the Egyptian Distribution Grid Code and with the technical requirements, the regulations & safety procedures for connecting the PV systems to the electrical grid as per the regulations available on "Egyptera" website: www.egyptera.org\renewables
3.1.5 Tenderers are requested to provide their estimates of the system output energy in (kWh/year) and the expected produced electric energy by the system against corresponding different solar radiation values year-round. All assumption should be stated in a way that allows calculations to be repeated and verified. If specialized & certified software is used, such software should be named and outputs provided such as (PVSYST or PVSOL, etc). Potential shadowing effect, if any, should be taken into consideration and clearly indicated in estimating the yearly energy yield of the proposed PV system configuration. Special attention shall be given to how the estimated PV energy yearly output was developed where the owner reserves the right for requesting clarification and adequate confirmation to that effect. In view of above, tenderers are encouraged and recommended to pay a site visit to the location prior to preparing the offers.
3.1.6 (1) AmbientAmbientAmbientAmbientAmbient Ambient temperatures ranging from -5 to 65 degree Celsius and (2) relative humidity of up to 95%.
3.1.7 Personnel safety during installations, operational and maintenance of the system after the start of operation shall be an integral part of the system design. The tenderer shall define in his offer the required human safety rules both before and after the system commissioning and normal operation. However, the tenderer shall be fully responsible for his workmen during installation.
3.1.8 The tenderer must submit approved and valid acceptance test certificates for major components, including mainly but not only, PV modules and Inverters for the specific types and models offered. Such certificates must be in compliance with the specified IEC standard requirements or others as the case would be where the tests should be conducted by an independent and internationally recognized entity. The certificates shall be valid and contain clear information of the adopted standards (specifically IEC ) as well as clear statement that the certificate can be affixed to the corresponding type and model offered along with confirmation that periodic inspection is being performed entailing that tested and certified specimens should not be just selected by the manufacturer. In some instances, such certificates would contain different models where in such case the offered model should be clearly highlighted. Factory test certificates of the particular product type and model offered should be also supplied and will be verified.
3.1.9 The system warranty period shall be at least Five year during which the supplier shall replace defective component at his own cost and risk; however longer guarantee periods may be specifically specified for some components.

A PERFORMANCE WARRANTY is required prior to contract signature to be release after the expiration of warranty period
3.1.10 Data sheets of equipment & components offered should be supplied.
3.2 PV MODULES
3.2.1 The specifications of the PV modules shall be indicated in the tenderer's technical offer documents containing at least the following: -
 PV Module manufacturer.
 PV modules Model.
 PV Module type (mono or poly).
 PV Module rated peak power at STC.
 Open circuit voltage (Voc).
 Short circuit current (Isc).
 Voltage at maximum power point (Vmpp).
 Current at maximum power point (Impp).
 PV Module Surface area and weight.
 Current, voltage and power temperature coefficient.
 Connected diodes; e.g. bypass diodes and blocking diodes.
 Certificates of modules’ testing and quality
 Country of origin
 Year of obtaining the IEC certificate
 Name of testing lab issuing the certificate

3.3 SUPPORT STRUCTURE
3.3.1 The support Structure shall be designed for simple mechanical and electrical installations. It shall support PV modules at a given orientation, absorb and transfer the mechanical loads to the ground properly. The support structure shall be designed to a tilt angle equal to the site latitude and installed due south. Some cases site restrictions could lead to compromising the tilt angle and south orientation such cases shall be STUDIED

The prospective Installer shall specify installation details of the solar PV modules and the support structures with lay-out drawings and array connection diagrams. The work shall be carried out as per the designs approved by the Customer. Comprehensive overall system both block diagram & single line diagram shall be supplied where all drawings and diagrams shall be supplied at A3 size at least.

3.4 ISOLATION SWITCH AND FUSES
The system must contain an isolation switch which can isolate the PV system from the building electrical network. The isolation switch shall be mounted near the building electric grid connection point.
The cables from the array strings to the solar grid inverters shall be provided with DC fuse protection. Fuses shall have a voltage rating and current rating as required. The fuse shall have DIN rail mountable fuse holders and shall be housed in thermoplastic IP 65 enclosures with transparent covers.

3.5 INVERTERS
3.5.1 The inverters shall be of the solar grid inverters type that converts the DC power of the solar PV modules to grid-compatible AC power, capable of producing three phase true sine wave at an output of 400/230 volts with maximum ± 10% variation and nominal frequency 50 Hz in range of 48.5 – 51 Hz as a maximum limit. Complete data sheets as well as valid and approved test certificates for the type and model(s) shall be submitted

The warranty period of the inverter shall be at least 5 years.
3.6 DC COMBINER BOX
3.6.1 A DC Combiner Box shall be used to combine the DC cables of the solar module arrays with DC fuse protection for the outgoing DC cable(s) to the DC Distribution Box.

3.7 CABLING AND WIRING
3.7.1 All cables shall be supplied conforming to IEC 60228 & IEC 60502, Voltage rating: 1,000V DC

3.8 EARTHING AND LIGHTENING PROTECTION
3.8.1 The PV modules frames, array support structure, inverter, electric boxes, etc. shall all be earthed through ground copper rods to limit the earthing system resistance to 1.5 Ohm

3.8.2 The contractor is committed to test and validate the effectiveness of the installed earthing system in an owner-approved testing lab such as the high voltage lab of the EEHC.
The resulting test certificate will be part of the primary acceptance.
3.8.3 The earthing system of the PV system should be separated from the building earthing, and the contractor should consult the distribution company to approve the earthing system to facilitate the handover and grid interconnection process.
3.8.4 The earthing system resistance should not exceed 1.5 ohms for AC.
3.8.5 The earth electrodes shall have a precast concrete enclosure with a removable lid for inspection and maintenance. The entire earthing system shall comprise non-corrosive components.

3.9 SWITCH BOARDS AND PROTECTION
3.9.1 Protection against "DC" overcurrent and overvoltage will be supplied with suitable ratings. The DC surge protection devices (SPDs) shall be installed in the DC distribution box adjacent to the solar grid inverter.
3.9.2 Protection against "AC" overcurrent, overvoltage and high temperature will also be supplied. Wall- mounted distribution panels should include fuses & circuit breakers and switches that are rated at 1.25 times of the rated load current. The AC surge protection devices SPDs shall be installed in the AC distribution box adjacent to the solar grid inverter.
3.9.3 The system shall also be fitted for protection against extreme voltage variation, over loading above indicated ranges and against extreme frequency variation and overheating.

3.10 AC DISTRIBUTION BOX (AC PANEL)
3.10.1 An AC distribution box shall be mounted close to the solar grid inverter. The AC distribution box shall be of the thermos-plastic IP65 DIN rail mounting type and shall comprise the following components and cable terminations:
- Incoming 3-core / 5-core (single-phase/three-phase) cable from the solar grid inverter
- AC circuit breaker, 2-pole / 4-pole
- AC surge protection device (SPD), class 2 as per IEC 60364-5-53
- Outgoing cable to the building electrical distribution board.

3.11 Caution Signs
3.11.1 In addition to the standard caution and danger boards or labels as per Egyptian Electricity Standards, the AC distribution box near the solar grid inverter, the building

3.11.2 distribution board to which the AC output of the solar PV system is connected and the Solar Generation Meter shall be provided with a non-corrosive caution label.

3.12 REGULATIOS FOR NET METERING BASED ON PROJECT TYPE
The system should contain electric meters with digital display that keeps separate track of energy in both directions (to and from the electric grid). It must comply with technical specifications, requirements and procedure of the Electricity Distribution Company, the tenderer will be responsible to follow up with the distribution company on the administrative procedure for connecting the system to the grid as per the relevant NET METERING regulation.

3.13 DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM DAS
3.13.1 Suitable data acquisition should be provided to the system and accessible remotely for online monitoring.
3.13.2 Suitable number of input channels should be selected for measuring and later calculating hence recording the system and subsystem parameters and allowing monitoring system performance, such as: PV array current and voltage, ambient temperature, solar irradiance on the tilted surface, PV instantaneous power, system accumulated energy output for different preset time intervals e.g. daily, weekly, monthly etc. The system should log the data on circular overwrite manner every one year at least.
3.13.3 System data on the Owner domain should be accessible with password, well arranged and informative.
3.13.4 Through the owner domain, there should be the possibility to download the recorded data in a spreadsheet readable format for further analysis.

3.14 DISPLAY SCREEN
3.14.1 3.14.1 The PV system shall include displaying system. "40" LED Display screen at the entrance of HQ building where such screen shall be approved by the owner to display the following parameters:
3.4.1.1 System instantaneous Peak Power (for .... kWp).
3.4.1.2 Daily Total energy generation.
3.4.1.3Accumulated energy generation since commissioning.
3.4.1.4The avoided amount of greenhouse gas emissions due to the usage of the PV system with respect to the accumulated energy.

4 Documentation
The Installer shall supply the following documentation:
a) System description with working principles.
b) System single line diagram.
c) Solar PV array lay-out.
d) Routing diagram of cables and wires.
e) Data sheets and user manuals of the solar PV panels and the solar grid inverter.
f) Quality plan
g) Health & Safety Plan
h) A system operation and maintenance manual.
i) Name, address, mobile number and email address of the service center to be contacted in case of troubleshooting, failure or complaint.
j) Warranty cards.
k) Maintenance register.
l) A work method statement

5 SPARE PARTS LIST
The tenderer shall submit in his offer the recommended spare parts for different system components based on his previous experience with similar systems, the spare parts list should include at least but not limited to 2% of the total supplied modules and 5% of the total supplied fuses of both the AC and DC connection.

6 DRAWINGS AND CATALOGUES
The tenderer shall include in his tender adequate engineering drawings and circuit diagrams, single line diagrams and full detailed drawings. Components specifications shall be supported by catalogues containing full technical description and certification of values indicated.

7 SYSTEM DESIGN AND TIME SCHEDULE
7.1 The tenderer shall indicate his overall system design configuration and the owner shall have the right to ask for and require any explanations.
7.2 In addition, the tenderer shall indicate in his offer his proposed implementation time schedule which won’t exceed 6 months.

8 PRE & DURING INSTALLATION CHEKING VERIFICATION 
Upon completion of the supply of the PV system equipment & components & before installation start, the contractor/supplier shall inform the owner who will conduct a complete preliminary checking and verification of the whole supply against contracted equipment and component lists as well as corresponding specifications including type and models offered and approved where any deviations well not be accepted. During installation the owner reserves right to inspect progress of work and forward any relevant remarks for due consideration.

9 TRAINING
Theoretical and practical training program will be developed and conducted by the contractor for this project. This training program will be on-the-job-training (OJT) at the project site.

10 SYSTEM PRIMARY ACCEPTANCE
10.1 The owner will visually check all system components and connections and may ask for modification if inconvenience is found.
10.2 The contractor will test the functionality of the system components, measure the system parameters in front of the owner and the owner has the right to propose additional non-destructive test conditions, if he believes so is needed, to double check the system response. Tests are to be conducted by the contractor under the contractor's responsibility.
10.3 The equipment that will be used in the testing can be provided by the contractor or by other side that is approved by the owner.
10.4 Any non-conformity revealed during the testing should be corrected to the mentioned specifications in the tender under the contractor's account and responsibility.
10.5 In order to guarantee the long-term system performance, an agreement between the contractor and the owner will be made, ensuring that the owner trained-personnel will carry out the regular routine maintenance according to the contractor's specifications.
10.6 Having the tests successfully implemented, the system should run automatically for two weeks under observation. Having not encountering any problem in the system operation during the two weeks; the primary acceptance will be completed successfully.

11 SYSTEM FINAL ACCEPTANCE
11.1 The owner will monitor system performance and output for 3 years during which accumulated energy output will be recorded. At the end of the 3 years guarantee period the total accumulated system energy output should be equal or be above the tenderer estimated yearly energy yield multiplied by 3.
11.2 In case that the accumulated energy output is less than the figures (earlier given by the tenderer in his offer) by a maximum of 5%, the owner will consider that the tenderer has complied with the requirements and accept the system, hence release and return the final guarantee. If the total measured accumulated output is less than the estimated figures (given by the tenderer in his offer for the 3 years) by more than 5%, hence the owner will have the right to deduct a percentage from the final letter of guarantee proportional to the percentage decrease in the measured value compared to the estimated one. The percentage decrease in the measured accumulated 3 years’ yield shall be limited to 15% of the tenderer estimated figures (i.e. equivalent to not less than 85% of the tenderer estimated output figures). If the decrease in the accumulated 3 years energy yield is more than 15% (i.e. equivalent to less than 85% output), then the owner shall have the right to liquidate and confiscate the final letter of guarantee. However, the time at which the utility power is down will not be included within the system operation time and the calculated accumulated output.
11.3 Submitting all the tests done to ensure proper commissioning in order to issue the final acceptance certificate.

12 OFFER PREPARATION
The hereinafter requirements shall apply to the PV system. The tenderer/bidder shall submit a complete offer for the required systems including the following items in the following order and in separate sections:
12.1 A statement from the bidder explaining his situation and approach towards the supply and installation of the main items required in the tender (e.g. briefing for: system component listing, warrantee, guarantee, training period, maintenance contract period, the offer total page number, comments, any reservations should also be clearly stated her, etc.).
12.2 Detailed system design besides defining the main features and functionality of all system components, dimensional layout, etc.
12.3 Clear project time schedule, indicating the main milestones actions of the schedule.
12.4 Technical specifications of the main system components such as PV specs, performance guarantee for the supplied PV modules, inverter, etc.
12.5 Overall System performance guarantee.
12.6 Certifications for the main system components.
12.7 Proposed system acceptance testing.
12.8 Proposed training program.
12.9 Spare parts list.
12.10 A simple financial feasibility study (Including payback period, IRR, based on a forecasted tariff price in the next 5 years in the point of view of the company)
12.11 Previous experience of PV projects in general and in Egypt. In particular projects where the same offered type of PV modules was used; defining the nature of application and the project size.
12.12 The project assigned-staff experience regarding their relevant training and experience in similar projects, special attention should be given to the project manager who will supervise the potential contract implementation.
12.13 The required legal document of the company specified in part II of this documents, in particular the certificate of company accreditation issued by the new and renewable energy authority (NREA) and being listed in the Egypt-PV project guiding list.
12.14 Every offer is expected to follow this order and to use an obvious partition between every section along with an index in the beginning.
12.15 Every page in the offer should be numbered at the bottom-right corner place from the beginning to the end.
12.16 Tables specifying system component information are attached (appendix [1]). It should be filled-in with all required information. The "page number" column in the table is referring to the document page number in the tenderer's offer from which this particular information was collected. Also, this particular information in the document should be highlighted in the main document body with a highlighter pen.
12.17 The financial form in appendix [3] is to be filled and included in the financial envelope.
12.18 The required specifications according to the a/m tables besides the tenderer text represent the minimum requirements; however, any additional data and information deemed necessary and/or useful by the tenderer should also be added.

*Technical and financial offer shall be submitted as hard copies, other related documents (Datasheets, certificates, etc..) may also additionally submitted as softcopy .

13 EVALUATION CRITERIA AND AWARDING OF THE TENDER

13.1 TECHNICAL EVALUATION(70%)
The Evaluation of Technical offers will be done in two stages as follow:

a. An initial screening of the technical proposals, to check their conformity with basic tender conditions and requirements. (Such as, but not limited to, Legal documents for the Tenderer/ Consortium, Certificates from international laboratories stating that PV modules and Inverters are complying with the specified IEC standards, Degradation factor of the PV modules and the system, Performance of the PV modules, supporting structure material, Technical information provided by catalogue and Schematic diagram for Each system, etc.). The tenderers, whom will not fill the attached tables in appendix (1) appropriately with clear and sufficient information, would be subject to possible elimination in the initial screening.

b. Only for the successful tenderers who passed the Basic tender conditions, the Owner will cross check the amount of electric energy expected to be produced by the system according to the tenderer data and information, as well as the overall system functionality where the
whole process will conclude by grading and scoring the technical offer according to the evaluation criteria herein item 13-3.

13.2 FINANCIAL EVALUATION (30%)
Only Technically successful offers will be processed for financial opening. The Owner will cross check the total price of the PV system according to the tenderer data and information (e.g. the price of each PV system component, each system total price, the operation and maintenance cost, etc.).

The financial analysis will conclude by grading and scoring the financial offers with the lowest offer acquiring the maximum and the rest offers will be computed as a ratio of the lowest offer price proposal among the proposals received and accepted technically
There is a reference made to the estimated budget and that any offers exceeding that budget will be disregarded

13.3 EVALUATION CRITERIA
The following evaluation criteria are meant to assess the compliance to the tender requirements besides the quality and the functionality of the mentioned items. In case any of the required items are not provided in the offer, it may result in the rejection of the offer.

14 . TESTING.
14.1 Testing shall be performed at approved laboratory as required to ensure the proper functioning of all components installed. Required testing equipment shall be in good operating condition and shall be properly maintained and calibrated. Upon completion of testing and checking of each item of equipment, any necessary maintenance and protection shall be carried out, written documentation shall be maintained for all checking and testing results.
14.2 PV modules tests
14.2.1 PV modules must qualify through enclosing test reports according to IEC standard. Additionally, performance of PV modules at standard test condition must be tested in accordance with IEC 61215 and IEC 62446.
14.2.2 Crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) array - On-site measurement of current voltage characteristics shall be in accordance with IEC 61829.
14.3 Inverter tests.
14.3.1 Each inverter shall be subjected to a production test in accordance with IEC 61727.
14.3.2 The contractor shall certify that the equipment has been tested and passed the design test as described in IEEE1547.
14.4 Test reports.

The contractor shall-submit certified test data of all testing performed, in accordance with IEC 60904 part 1 prior to shipment of the equipment.
Testing shall be performed a required to ensure the proper and complete
Installation of all components. Required testing equipment shall be in good operating condition and shall be properly maintained and calibrated. Upon completion of testing and checking of each item of equipment, any necessary maintenance and protection shall be carried out. Written documentation shall be maintained for all checking and testing report.

Part-II
APPENDICES

Appendix (1): System Component Information Tables 
Appendix (2): Typical wiring diagram for grid-connected solar PV system 
Appendix (3): Grid Connection point as per the Solar Energy Plants Grid Connection Code
Appendix (4): Site Layout (Guideline)
Appendix (5): System components & Prices

Contact Person for Inquiries (Written inquiries only)
Dr. Hend Farouh
Project Manager
[email protected], [email protected]
Any delay in EGYPT-PV’s response shall be not used as a reason for extending the deadline for submission, unless EGYPT-PV determines that such an extension is necessary and communicates a new deadline to the Proposers.

Qualification of the service provider:

The Consultancy firm and/or the working team should meet the following qualifications:

- Experience: Substantive and demonstrated professional experience in the field of EPC solar projects in Egypt. At least 4 years of professional experience.
- Installed at least 1 MWp of s