Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
Essex County Council
County Hall, Market Road
Chelmsford
CM1 1QH
Contact
Ms Natasha I-Goldsmith
Natasha.I-Goldsmith2@essex.gov.uk
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UKH3 - Essex
Internet address(es)
Main address
Buyer's address
one.2) Information about joint procurement
The contract is awarded by a central purchasing body
one.3) Communication
The procurement documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge, at
https://procontract.due-north.com/Login
Additional information can be obtained from the above-mentioned address
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Regional or local authority
one.5) Main activity
General public services
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
**SOFT MARKET TESTING** Solar Farms on Essex County Council owned Landholdings
Reference number
DN647029
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 45200000 - Works for complete or part construction and civil engineering work
two.1.3) Type of contract
Works
two.1.4) Short description
Essex County Council (the Council) has a commitment in Everyone’s Essex 2021 to 2025 to accelerate the county’s transition to renewable and sustainable energy. As part of this, the Council has set a target for its core estate to reach net zero by 2030. Electricity consumption is projected to decrease over the coming years through investment in energy efficiency and estate rationalisation, but the Council also has a commitment, through its renewable electricity strategy, to access 100% of its energy requirement from renewable sources and to maximise opportunities for both onsite and offsite renewable electricity generation.
As part of this commitment, the Council is keen to explore opportunities to develop solar generation on land assets that it owns. This could include both private wire and grid connected opportunities, with the potential for the Council to act as an off-taker for any projects that come forward.
The Council has reviewed its landholdings and identified FOUR sites for development consideration. These sites have all undergone various land assessments to determine risk. The Council wants to determine the feasibility of developing ground mounted solar farms on these four sites and invites interested parties to respond to the Q&A pack prepared as part of this soft market testing.
Responses will be reviewed, and shortlisted parties invited for a virtual Q&A session on the 30th or 31st January 2023. At this stage this opportunity is soft market test only and NOT A CALL FOR COMPETITION.
This market test exercise is to allow the Council to ascertain interest from the market, investigate potential options, and consider the best route for a potential future contract opportunity.
Further details and a questionnaire pack can be located via the Council's e-sourcing portal, ProContract: https://procontract.due-north.com/Login Please note that you will need to register a supplier account to access the soft market test questionnaire pack. However, the registration process is free of charge and provides access to all the current and forthcoming procurement opportunities for Essex County Council alongside several other public sector organisations.
The deadline for the soft market test responses will be Friday 13th January 2023 at 12:00pm; all responses and clarifications must be submitted via ProContract.
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.2) Description
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 09331200 - Solar photovoltaic modules
- 09332000 - Solar installation
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKH3 - Essex
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
Respondents are advised that the purpose of this PIN is to engage in dialogue with the market and ascertain interest / feasibility of the potential opportunity. The scope of service, date of publication or potential contract value may be amended following the conclusion of soft market testing and should not be taken as a final "version" of requirement.
two.3) Estimated date of publication of contract notice
1 January 2024
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: No