--- title: Solar tenders in India 2026: where to find and win them · TrackTender description: A practical guide to solar tenders in India: where they're published, the five main types, the clauses that decide bids, and how a supplier should track them. canonical: https://tracktender.com/blog/solar-tenders-in-india-guide/ source: https://tracktender.com/blog/solar-tenders-in-india-guide/ --- # Solar tenders in India 2026: where to find and win them > A practical guide to solar tenders in India: where they're published, the five main types, the clauses that decide bids, and how a supplier should track them. - [Blog](/blog/) / - Solar tenders in India 2026: where to find and win them Find tenders - Solar - Sector guide - Renewables # Solar tenders in India 2026: where to find and win them A practical guide to solar tenders in India: where they're published, the five main types, the clauses that decide bids, and how a supplier should track them. KSKetul Shah08 June 2026 · Updated 13 July 2026 · 7 min read Copied The short version Solar tenders in India are spread across more sources than any other category: central agencies (SECI, NTPC), state discoms and nodal agencies, GeM, and scheme-linked rooftop programmes. In this guide - [Solar tenders come from four layers at once](#solar-tenders-come-from-four-layers-at-once) - [The five types of solar tender — and why bidding on the wrong one wastes EMD](#the-five-types-of-solar-tender--and-why-bidding-on-the-wrong-one-wastes-emd) - [Solar bids die on gating clauses, not price](#solar-bids-die-on-gating-clauses-not-price) - [How to track and shortlist solar tenders](#how-to-track-and-shortlist-solar-tenders) - [Frequently asked questions](#faq) Key takeaways - Solar tenders in India are spread across more sources than any other category: central agencies (SECI, NTPC), state discoms and nodal agencies, GeM, and scheme-linked rooftop programmes. - There are five broad tender types — rooftop, utility-scale on-grid plants, EPC works, hardware supply, and solar pumps/street lights/off-grid — and bidding for the wrong type wastes EMD. - Solar adds technical and policy gating on top of price: ALMM approved-list requirements, domestic-content rules, and multi-year warranty and O&M obligations decide bids before price matters. - The deciding clauses live inside the tender PDF, not in the listing, so you can't shortlist solar tenders by title and value alone. - Winning suppliers see every relevant tender on day one, clear the gating clauses fast, and bid only where they can actually win — a monitoring problem before anything else. Solar tenders in India are published across four layers at once: central agencies like SECI and NTPC, state discoms and nodal agencies, GeM, and scheme-linked rooftop programmes. There is no single portal — which is exactly why qualified suppliers keep missing them. A rooftop installer in Pune told me he found out about a state rooftop empanelment a week after the bid had closed. He was perfectly qualified. He’d done that exact work before. He simply wasn’t watching the portal it appeared on — because solar tenders don’t all come from one place, and the one he was watching wasn’t the one that mattered that week. That’s the thing about solar in India right now. The demand is real and the money is moving, but the opportunities are spread across more sources than almost any other category I look at. If you sell panels, build plants, or do rooftop EPC, the hard part is rarely the work. It’s knowing the tender exists in time to bid. Here’s how the solar tender picture actually works in 2026, and how a supplier should approach it. ## Solar tenders come from four layers at once Solar is unusual because it touches central agencies, state agencies and the general procurement portals simultaneously. Watch only one layer and you miss most of it. ### Central agencies: SECI, NTPC and the PSUs [SECI](https://www.seci.co.in/), the Solar Energy Corporation of India, runs the large utility-scale auctions: big on-grid plants, manufacturing-linked tenders, hybrid and storage-linked solar. NTPC and other central PSUs also float solar EPC and supply tenders. These are the headline projects — usually large in value and competitive on tariff. They tend to publish on the agency’s own site and on the central procurement systems, not on a marketplace. ### State discoms and nodal agencies Almost every state has a renewable energy development agency, and most have a discom procuring solar in some form. GEDA in Gujarat, MEDA in Maharashtra, and the equivalents in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Telangana and the rest. These bodies run empanelments for rooftop vendors, agricultural pump programmes, and state-level plant tenders. This is where a lot of mid-sized work lives. It’s also the most fragmented layer, because each state portal behaves differently. (I’ve written more on [where tenders come from](/blog/where-government-tenders-come-from/) and why this fragmentation is the real difficulty.) ### GeM The [Government e-Marketplace](https://gem.gov.in/) carries a steady stream of solar supply and smaller installation tenders: panels, inverters, solar street lights, off-grid systems for government buildings, pumps. If you supply hardware rather than build plants, GeM is often where your bids appear, and it’s easy to underestimate how much volume passes through it. If you’re not registered there yet, my [GeM seller registration guide](/blog/gem-seller-registration-guide/) covers the setup. ### Scheme-linked and rooftop programmes Programmes like [PM Surya Ghar](https://pmsuryaghar.gov.in/) for residential rooftop, plus the various rooftop and agricultural solar schemes, generate empanelment and vendor-registration opportunities at the state and DISCOM level rather than one national tender. The right way to think about these schemes: they create demand and a vendor framework, and the actual tenders or registrations that flow from them appear through the state agencies and discoms above. Watch the agency, not just the scheme name. ## The five types of solar tender — and why bidding on the wrong one wastes EMD Not every solar tender is the same opportunity. Broadly, they fall into a few buckets. TypeWho it suitsWhere it appears Rooftop (residential, C&I, govt buildings)Installers, rooftop EPC, empanelled vendorsState nodal agencies, discoms, GeM Utility-scale on-grid plantsDevelopers, large EPC firmsSECI, NTPC, central PSUs, state agencies EPC works contractsConstruction and EPC contractorsCentral PSUs, state agencies, CPPP-type portals Supply of panels, inverters, BoSManufacturers, distributors, tradersGeM, agency supply tenders Pumps, street lights, off-gridInstallers, suppliersState schemes, discoms, GeM The distinction that trips people up is supply versus EPC versus turnkey. A “solar” tender might be pure hardware supply, or it might be design-build-operate for years. Read which one it is before you get excited about the value. A high-value number on a turnkey plant tender means very little if you only supply inverters — and a bid on the wrong type is a waste of [EMD](/blog/emd-epbg-mii-mse-tender-terms/). ## Solar bids die on gating clauses, not price Most categories come down to price and eligibility. Solar adds a layer of technical and policy gating you have to clear before price even matters — and this is where suppliers new to the sector lose bids they could have won. ### ALMM and approved lists Solar tenders frequently reference approved or empanelled lists for modules, and sometimes for other equipment. The **ALMM** — the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers maintained by [MNRE](https://mnre.gov.in/) — matters for a meaningful share of tenders, especially government and scheme-linked ones. If a tender requires ALMM-listed modules and you’ve quoted something off-list, your bid is dead regardless of price. Check this clause first, every time. ### Domestic content Many solar tenders, particularly central and scheme-linked ones, carry domestic-content expectations: cells or modules made in India, sometimes specific to the manufacturing stage. The exact requirement varies by tender and by year, so read each tender’s clause rather than assuming — this sits alongside the broader [Make in India purchase preference rules](/blog/make-in-india-purchase-preference-class-1-2/). But know that it exists, and that it can exclude perfectly good imported hardware. ### Specs, warranties and O&M Solar specs run deep: module wattage and technology, inverter ratings, performance ratio guarantees, and warranty obligations measured in years, not months. The warranty and O&M terms are often where the real cost sits. And a lot of solar tenders aren’t “install and leave”. They include years of operation, maintenance and guaranteed generation. That changes the economics completely — and it’s the kind of detail that lives inside the PDF, not in any filterable field on the portal. None of this is exotic once you’ve done a few. But it means you can’t shortlist solar tenders by title and value alone. The deciding clauses are inside the document — [here’s how to read one properly](/blog/how-to-read-a-tender-document/). ## How to track and shortlist solar tenders Given all of the above, here’s the approach that works. - **Decide exactly what you do.** Rooftop EPC in three districts is a different business from pan-India inverter supply, and your shortlist should reflect that. Vague targeting produces a flood of irrelevant bids and you stop reading them. - **Watch the right layers for your type.** A hardware supplier should be on GeM and on agency supply tenders. A rooftop installer should be on their state nodal agency and discom empanelments. A developer or large EPC firm should be watching SECI, the central PSUs and the bigger state tenders. Most suppliers need at least two layers — and that’s where the manual approach quietly breaks down. Nobody checks four portals every working day without fail. - **Shortlist on the gating clauses first.** Before value, before location, check the three things that can disqualify you instantly: ALMM or approved-list requirement, domestic-content requirement, and the warranty and O&M obligation. If you clear those, then look at price and delivery. (When you find one worth pursuing, my guide on [how to apply for a government tender](/blog/how-to-apply-for-government-tender-india/) walks through the EMD, eligibility and submission steps.) - **Match geography the way the tender defines it.** Solar work is location-heavy, and the delivery or site location usually sits inside the consignee details or the document, not in a clean field. A Surat rooftop firm should hear about [Gujarat solar tenders](/tenders/gujarat/solar-renewable/) — not be buried under utility-scale auctions in [Rajasthan](/tenders/rajasthan/solar-renewable/). Stop checking four portals by hand TrackTender has a [Solar & Renewable category](/categories/solar-renewable/). It watches these sources, AI-reads each bid document, filters by your state and the type of solar work you do, and sends the matches to your Telegram and WhatsApp with the deadline, EMD and document attached. [Get matched solar tenders →](/subscribe/) First month ₹30 (about ₹1/day), then ₹300/month. Cancel anytime. The suppliers who do well in solar aren’t the ones with the cheapest panels. They’re the ones who see every relevant tender on day one, clear the gating clauses quickly, and put their energy into bids they can actually win. The sector rewards being early and being precise. Both of those are monitoring problems before they’re anything else — and in a sector this scattered, the finding is the one part you shouldn’t be doing manually. ## Frequently asked questions Where are solar tenders published in India? Solar tenders come from four layers at once: central agencies like SECI and NTPC, state discoms and nodal agencies (such as GEDA in Gujarat and MEDA in Maharashtra), the Government e-Marketplace (GeM), and scheme-linked rooftop programmes. If you only watch one layer, you miss most of the opportunities. What is ALMM and why does it matter for solar tenders? ALMM is the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers. It applies to a meaningful share of tenders, especially government and scheme-linked ones. If a tender requires ALMM-listed modules and you've quoted something off-list, your bid is dead regardless of price. What are the main types of solar tender in India? Broadly five: rooftop solar (residential, C&I, government buildings), utility-scale on-grid plants, EPC works contracts, supply of panels/inverters/BoS, and solar pumps, street lights and off-grid systems. Each suits a different kind of supplier and appears on different portals. Where do hardware suppliers find solar tenders? If you supply panels, inverters, solar street lights, off-grid systems or pumps rather than build plants, GeM is often where your bids appear, alongside the supply tenders floated by state agencies. It's easy to underestimate how much volume passes through GeM. What is the difference between supply, EPC and turnkey solar tenders? A solar tender might be pure hardware supply, an EPC works contract, or a design-build-operate (turnkey) deal spanning years of operation and maintenance. Read which one it is before you get excited about the value — a high-value turnkey number means little if you only supply inverters. How should a supplier shortlist solar tenders? Check the gating clauses first — ALMM or approved-list requirement, domestic-content requirement, and the warranty and O&M obligation — before looking at value or location. If you clear those, assess price and delivery, and match geography the way the tender defines it in the consignee details or the document. KS Written by Ketul Shah Ketul Shah is the founder of TrackTender and Anekant AI. He works with Indian SMEs that bid on government contracts and writes about GeM, e-procurement and how smaller suppliers can compete and win. [More about TrackTender →](/about/) Keep reading ## More from the blog - [13 July 2026EMD exemption for MSMEs: rules, proof and how to claimHow the EMD exemption for MSMEs works, why it is never automatic, Udyam vs NSIC as proof, the trader exclusion, and what to do if a buyer rejects it.](/blog/emd-exemption-msme-how-to-claim/) - [13 July 2026GeM bid status: how to check your tender result (and read it)How to check GeM bid status from the seller dashboard, what each evaluation status means, how to see the published result with competitors' prices, and how to use it.](/blog/gem-bid-status-tender-results/) - [13 June 20265 Tender Tiger alternatives for government tenders in 2026Five honest, fact-checked Tender Tiger alternatives for Indian businesses, what each tender alert service does well, and how to pick the right one.](/blog/tender-tiger-alternatives/) ## Stop reading about tenders. Start winning them. Pick your states and categories and get matching tenders on Telegram and WhatsApp. [Start tracking](/subscribe/)