Resulting minimum solar-supplied energy: primary ≈ 12,555 kWh/year per school; secondary ≈ 93,887 kWh/year per school. Bidders must clearly state the modelled coverage percentage achieved by their proposed design for each represented school, with supporting  PVsyst simulation output,

Battery storage – mandatory technology

Battery storage must use lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO₄ / LFP) chemistry. Other lithium chemistries (e.g. NMC), lead-acid or gel batteries are not acceptable. Battery sizing must be justified against the load profile and the required autonomy/backup strategy described by the bidder. Battery banks must meet or exceed the following minimum specifications:

Component Standards

• PV modules: monocrystalline, with valid IEC 61215 and IEC 61730 certification.
• Inverters / hybrid inverters: suitable for grid-interactive operation with battery storage, with relevant IEC/EN safety and EMC certification and appropriate protection functions.
• LiFePO₄ batteries: with integrated/compatible Battery Management System (BMS) and relevant safety certification (e.g. IEC 62619 / UN 38.3 for transport).
• Cabling, protection and mounting: compliant with applicable IEC standards and suitable for local environmental conditions; surge/lightning and over-current protection to be included.
• All equipment must be new, unused and of current production.

Inverters / hybrid inverters must meet or exceed the following minimum specifications:

PV Panels  must meet or exceed the following minimum specifications:

 Mounting structures and balance of system

Mounting and racking structures must be engineered to the same quality and design life as the rest of the system (i.e. a structural design life of at least 25 years, matching the PV modules). They must meet or exceed the following minimum requirements:

Minimum warranty requirements

Proposals must meet or exceed the following minimum warranties. Warranties exceeding these minimums are encouraged and will be considered favourably during technical evaluation. Warranty terms must be stated per item in the Bill of Quantities (BoQ) and substantiated by manufacturer documentation.

Operation & maintenance (O&M)

Bidders shall propose an O&M package covering preventive and corrective maintenance after commissioning, including response times, scheduled servicing, spare-parts strategy, remote monitoring (if offered) and periodic performance reporting to SOS Ethiopia. The proposed O&M period, scope and pricing shall be clearly stated.

Proposal Submission Requirements

Each proposal must contain the following. Incomplete proposals may be rejected. The submission may be in English.

Technical planning for at least two schools

Bidders must provide detailed technical planning for at least two representative schools – one primary school and one secondary school – based on the load profiles in Annex A. For each of the two schools, include:

• System design and sizing (PV array capacity in kWp, battery capacity in kWh, inverter rating in kW).
• Energy yield / coverage calculation demonstrating the required minimum coverage (≥ 90% primary, ≥ 84% secondary), with supporting simulation or calculation.
• Technical drawings, including: single-line/electrical diagram, system layout, array/mounting arrangement, and battery & inverter installation layout.
• Description of grid integration, protection and safety concept, and behaviour during grid outage.

Bills of Quantities (BoQ)
Two BoQ documents ( one for primary school and one for secondary school) must be submitted. A complete, itemised BoQ covering all items (equipment, materials, installation, transport, O&M, etc.). The BoQ must explicitly include the warranty term for each of the following: PV panels, batteries and inverters. Prices should be itemised and shown per school and as a project total where applicable.

Data sheets
Manufacturer data sheets for all quoted items (PV modules, LiFePO₄ batteries, inverters, mounting, protection devices, metering, etc.), confirming the technical specifications and certifications referenced above.
Company and compliance documents

• Company profile and legal registration/trade licence(s).
• Evidence of relevant experience (reference projects of comparable scope, ideally solar PV with battery storage for institutions).
• Contactable references: at least three reference clients for comparable projects, with contact person, organisation, email and telephone, which SOS Ethiopia may contact directly.
• Relevant certifications/qualifications of the firm and key technical staff.
• Proposed project team and implementation/delivery schedule, with CVs of named key team members (e.g. project manager, lead/design engineer, site supervisor) detailing their qualifications and relevant project experience.
• Financial statements for the last three (3) years, to demonstrate the firm's size, financial standing and capacity to deliver a project of this scale.

Eligibility
This call is open to all qualified national and international firms (and consortia/joint ventures) able to demonstrate the legal capacity, technical competence and financial standing to deliver the assignment. Consortia must nominate a lead entity. International bidders must be able to deliver, install and maintain in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia and comply with all applicable Ethiopian import, customs and operating requirements.

 Evaluation of Proposals
Proposals will be evaluated on a combined technical and financial basis with a weighting of 70% technical and 30% financial. Only proposals meeting the mandatory requirements (LiFePO₄ batteries, minimum coverage, minimum warranties and complete submission) will proceed to scoring.
 Indicative scoring framework

SOS Ethiopia reserves the right to request clarifications, to accept or reject any proposal, and to annul the process at any time without incurring liability

 Timeline and Key Dates

No site visit is arranged for this tender. Bidders are expected to base their designs on the load profiles provided and any publicly available site information 

Submission Instructions
Complete proposals (technical planning, BoQs, data sheets and company/compliance documents) must be submitted in a single email submission – technical and financial documents together – to reach SOS Ethiopia by the deadline.

Proposals received after the deadline may be rejected. Bidders are responsible for ensuring their email (including attachments) is successfully received; very large files should be split or shared via a secure link as agreed with the contact person.

chnical and financial documents together – to reach SOS Ethiopia by the deadline.

 General Terms and Conditions

• This Call for Proposals does not commit SOS Ethiopia to award a contract or to pay any costs incurred in preparing a proposal.
• All information provided by SOS Ethiopia is confidential and to be used solely for preparing the proposal.
• SOS Ethiopia applies a zero-tolerance policy on fraud, corruption and child safeguarding violations; bidders must comply with SOS Child Safeguarding and anti-corruption standards.
• Awarded contracts are subject to satisfactory due diligence and signing of SOS Ethiopia's standard contract terms.
• Prices must remain valid for 90 days from the submission deadline.

Annex A – School Load Profiles
A.1 Primary school load profile

.2 Secondary school load profile

Estimated annual demand: ≈ 111,770 kWh/year. Minimum solar coverage required: 84% (≈ 93,887 kWh/year).

Annex B – Submission Checklist

Bidders should confirm that the following are included before submitting:

• Technical planning for at least two schools (one primary, one secondary), incl. system sizing
• Technical drawings (single-line diagram, layout, mounting, battery & inverter installation)