Solar EPC Bid Evaluation Sheet: Scoring Modules, Inverters, Scope and Warranties

A solar EPC bid evaluation sheet scores every bidder on the same lines: modules, inverters, structure, electrical balance of plant, scope, warranties and guarantees, commercial terms and programme. Run pass-or-fail gates first, then weighted scores out of 100, and compare price only after you have normalised each bid to the same scope in rupees per kW DC, excluding GST.

Step 1: pass-or-fail gates before any scoring

Gates remove bids that cannot be compared. A bid that fails a gate is returned for clarification once, not scored. Copy the table into your sheet.

On the module gate: MNRE's office memorandum of 4 August 2026 exempts net-metering projects commissioned by 31 December 2026 from the cell list (List-II), while the module list (List-I) still applies. Private captive plants behind the meter are outside both lists. The bidder should say which applies to you; see ALMM.

Step 2: the weighted scoring sheet

Weights below add up to 100. Change them to suit your project, but fix them before the bids open, and write them in the RFQ. Score each line from 0 to 5 using the notes, multiply by the weight and divide by 5.

Step 3: how to fill the module and inverter lines

These two lines carry the most weight because they are the hardest to change later. Ask each bidder to complete the fields below on their letterhead.

• Module: maker, model and wattage; cell technology; ALMM List-I entry; test certificates; product warranty in years; linear power warranty and the stated first-year and annual degradation; manufacturing location of the modules offered.
• Inverter: maker and model; rating; number of MPPTs; maximum DC input and the DC/AC ratio proposed; efficiency curve; protection class; anti-islanding and reverse-power functions; communication and monitoring; warranty years and extension price; service centre and response time.

Score a stated figure above an unstated one. A bidder who writes "as per standard" has not answered. Do not treat a label such as Tier-1 as a substitute for the listing and test reports. Our pages on solar PV modules and string and central inverters explain the choices behind these fields.

Step 4: scope matrix, so that price compares like with like

Ask each bidder to mark every line as included, excluded or by owner. The lines that decide whether two prices are comparable:

• Roof structural survey and any strengthening; walkways, lifelines and fall protection.
• HT-side works: bay, breaker, CT and PT metering, protection relays, transformer changes.
• DISCOM fees, inspector fees, and who prepares the drawings for each filing.
• Monitoring, weather station, cleaning arrangement and water points.
• DG interlock, anti-back-feed arrangement and any export limiting device.
• Insurance during erection, transport and storage.
• Testing, commissioning and the handover pack: as-built drawings, test reports, manuals.

Then adjust. Add a priced allowance for every line one bidder excludes and another includes, and compare the adjusted prices in rupees per kW DC. Our line-item checklist for a 500 kW quote works through the same normalisation with examples.

Step 5: warranties, guarantees and commercial terms

A guarantee is worth what its test method is worth. Score a performance ratio guarantee higher when it names the measurement period, the irradiance and temperature corrections, the meter used and the remedy. A percentage with none of these is a sales line; see what a performance ratio guarantee should say. On commercial terms, payment tied to delivered milestones and a retention held until the guarantee period ends are the usual protections; the percentages are negotiated, so set yours in the RFQ. The agreement clauses that decide who pays later are in 15 clauses for a solar EPC agreement.

For price scoring, a common method gives the bid with the lowest evaluated cost the full price weight and scales the others by that cost divided by their own. Technical and price weights are your choice. Put a minimum technical score, such as 70 out of 100, as a condition for opening the price, so that a low price cannot rescue a weak bid.

Mistakes the sheet is built to catch

Most disputes after award trace to a few patterns. The bid priced a DC capacity but the contract refers to AC. The module was swapped at delivery for a model the quote never named. The inverter warranty was five years in the bid and the agreement says two. The HT bay was "by client" in a footnote. The roof was never surveyed, so strengthening arrives as a variation. Each gate and field above exists to turn one of those into a line you can see before you sign. If two bidders differ by a large margin, look first at the scope matrix, because the gap is usually in what each left out, not in the cost of the same work.

Keep the filled sheets. They are the record that the award was made on stated criteria, and they become the checklist for the handover inspection against what each bidder promised.

How Secured Engineers helps

We design solar in-house and file the DISCOM net-metering and CEIG applications in-house, so our own bids state approvals as scope instead of leaving them to the owner. MEPF and solar can sit under one contract. Our offices are in Noida (Delhi NCR) and Ludhiana, with 535+ projects across 18+ states and 89.77% repeat clients. Our guide to evaluating solar EPC proposals is the narrative version of this sheet, and the solar EPC page describes our scope.

Use the sheet on your own bids, or send us the bids and we will fill it in and mark the gaps. Start from our RFQ page, message us on WhatsApp, call +91 70099 85817, or ask for a free proposal.