Description
Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council ("the Council") is seeking to develop a long-term energy partnership with a Development Partner. The Development Partner will work in collaboration with the Council, key stakeholders and organisations to bring about the transformation and decarbonisation of Oldham's energy infrastructure.
The Development Partner shall work to originate, define, develop, finance, deliver and operate a broad range of decarbonisation projects and initiatives across Oldham, with support from the Council. The Development Partner is expected to leverage its expertise, experience, capacity and capabilities to innovate and generate holistic and deliverable energy solutions, and to exploit its unique apex position within Oldham's energy system to develop and implement an innovative business model which maximises the benefit of technological and commercial synergies between different low carbon Asset Classes.
The Strategic Energy Partnership's (SEP) key anchor project is the Heat Network Reference Scheme including the existing St Mary's scheme, which may serve as the foundation for a potential Zonal Heat Network.
The SEP Agreement will set out a number of requirements which the heat network project must meet in order to proceed into an approvals gateway process. If the project proceeds beyond the development period (i.e. is "approved" as part of the approvals gateway process), the Council and Development Partner will become shareholders in a Project Company, albeit that the Council's shareholding will be limited to a "Golden Share". The Golden Share will simply allow the Council to exercise control in relation to a limited number of reserved matters including carbon intensity, reporting and tariffs.
If the Heat Network Reference Scheme project is approved at the end of the development period, the Project Company will be the supplier of heat to a number of public and private sector bodies in the borough under separate heat connection and supply agreements. The potential heat customers for early phases include Oldham Council (details of which can be found in Appendix R (Oldham Low Carbon Heat Network OBC / Customer Letter of Intent OMBC) of the Invitation To Tender (ITT), First Choice Homes Oldham (FCHO), The Oldham College, Royal Oldham Hospital and other NHS sites and the new Muse residential developments in Oldham Town Centre. For further information on potential customers for later phases please see the Zone Market Prospectus in Appendix S of the ITT. For the wider borough, potential customers also include schools and Registered Housing Providers.
The Council has secured an £8.78 million grant from the Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF) to support this initiative, with plans for future expansion under the Advanced Zoning Programme (AZP). A portion of the GHNF grant funding that the Council has obtained from the DESNZ will be used to commission early works which will then be adopted by the Development Partner under the SEP Agreement. If the heat network project is approved in accordance with the SEP Agreement, the Council intends to pass on the residual capital GHNF grant funding to the Project Company under an On Grant Agreement.
The procurement documents include a Project Information Document (PID) which provides a thorough overview of the SEP and the opportunities beyond the heat network. The PID identifies several site-level projects on Council-owned assets which could be included in the SEP's Strategic Programmes for the first 5-year Strategic Business Plan (SBP) based on the information currently available. These projects include roof-mounted solar PV at four sites, solar car ports at three sites, ground mounted PV at three sites and a gasifying biomass CHP at one site, as well as an opportunity for Operation and Maintenance and Power Purchase Agreement for one site - more details can be found in Section 10 of the PID. The SEP Agreement will also set out a number of requirements which the non-heat work projects must meet in order to proceed into an approvals gateway process. Where these projects proceed the Development Partner will enter into separate contracts with its customers (including the Council).
It is the Council's intention that all of the potential projects listed in the PID and the separate contracts entered into in respect of those projects are in scope for delivery by the Development Partner. It is also the Council's intention that any future projects which arise within the three Asset Classes (heat networks, electricity generation & storage and Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure) on Council-owned assets which are not listed in the PID will also be in scope for delivery by the Development Partner.
Information contained within this notice is not all inclusive, and readers are directed to obtain and review the procurement documents for full details, and to ensure their understanding of all matters before making any commercial decisions in respect of this opportunity.
The 'Total Value' stated within this UK4 Tender Notice has been estimated according to the potential total future revenues from opportunities arising from the contract. Although the contract has a maximum term of 25 years, it is expected that projects and separate contracts arising from the SEP Agreement may have terms which extend beyond the term of the SEP Agreement (for example in the case of the heat network and related connection and supply contracts). Factors considered include the ratio of required capital investment to revenue for different energy technology types, proportion of domestic versus commercial customers, and deliverability factors in terms of the expected proportion of theoretical projects currently identified at a high level in the Local Area Energy Plan which are deliverable in reality.
Taking into account all of the above factors, the estimated contract value and so 'Total Value' stated within this UK4 Tender Notice is between £2.2 billion (excluding VAT) / £2.62 billion (including VAT) and £3.2 billion (excluding VAT) / £3.8 billion (including VAT). This is an estimated value only and the real value of the contract will depend on a wide range of factors associated with developing projects of varying types with different stakeholders in varying locations. The Council makes no representation nor guarantee that this estimated value will be realised during the lifetime of the SEP Agreement or thereafter. Suppliers should make their own independent commercial enquires, estimates, judgements and decisions associated with this SEP.
The Council will require the Development Partner to be a single entity, and therefore if the successful Supplier is a consortium it will be required to form a Special Purpose Vehicle or for one consortium member to act as lead contractor.
Regarding bidding models, the Council stipulates in its procurement documents that any person or organisation that is a proposed Key Sub-Contractor, Partner, Consortium Member (SC-P-CM) or similar for a bidding Supplier may be a Key SC-P-CM or similar for one bidding Supplier only.
If the bidding Supplier intends to appoint a Key SC-P-CM or similar, it must ensure that the Key SC-P-CM or similar is not also proposed as a Key SC-P-CM or similar in any other bidding Supplier's response to the tender document.
The Council envisaged the lead CPV code being 71314000 Energy and Related Services. The set-up options for this UK4 Tender Notice do not enable the distinct selection of a 'lead' CPV code, and therefore the Energy and Related Services code is captured under the hierarchy of the higher level Engineering Services code.
Section 4 of the ITT details the reasons why this tender has not been lotted.
Regarding the Council's market capacity building objectives; to support potential Suppliers to network with other organisations who may be interested in collaboration opportunities, forming sub-contract relationships, partnerships, consortium arrangements or otherwise; interested parties may email/contact info@greeneconomy.co.uk to register interest in its sign-posting service if its offering is of interest:
Green Economy are collating and sharing data (within agreed parameters and with consent) between organisations which are capable of bidding directly for this contract opportunity and organisations which are capable of being, or have potential to be; sub-suppliers or sub-contractors to such larger organisations bidding directly.
Organisations may contact Green Economy to determine whether engagement for this purpose is appropriate, but they are under no obligation to do so. You can read more about Green Economy on their website: https://www.greeneconomy.co.uk/
Procurement documents - redacted versions published:
There are certain elements (e.g., appendices/schedules) of the ITT documents provided at the date of this notice which are outstanding, as indicated within each document. In particular, the following appendices contain substantial redactions:
-ITT Appendix B - Award Criteria
-ITT Appendix C - Assessment Methodology
Appendix B as published; details the full break down of Award Criteria questions along with corresponding weightings but does not include the full text of the questions themselves. The Council intends to publish the unredacted versions of Appendices B and C within three weeks of the date of this notice, and in any event no later than the date the Council will confirm the Suppliers proceeding to Stage 2 (of the Competitive Flexible Procedure described herein) and publication of the Invitation To Tender. Please refer to the Procurement Timetable at Section 7 of the ITT for this planned date.
Please refer to the section below 'SUBMISSION ADDRESS AND ANY SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS' for details of how to obtain and submit documents. Suppliers are solely responsible for ensuring they access and download all procurement documentation at every stage of the procurement process.