Advanced Energy Recovery from Sludge

Thames Water is looking for new methods to recover larger amounts of renewable energy from sewage sludge to meet regulatory, economic and environmental targets. Recent developments and success in advanced thermal recovery technology has prompted this OJEU.

UK-Reading: Construction works for sewage treatment plants, purification plants and refuse incineration plants

2013/S 019-028835

Contract notice – utilities

Services

Directive 2004/17/EC

Section I: Contracting entity

I.1)Name, addresses and contact point(s)

Thames Water Utilities Limited
Procurement Support Centre – 3rd Floor East, c/o Mail Room, Rose Kiln Court
RG2 0BY Reading
UNITED KINGDOM
E-mail: procurement.support.centre@thameswater.co.uk

Further information can be obtained from: The above mentioned contact point(s)

Specifications and additional documents (including documents for a dynamic purchasing system) can be obtained from: The above mentioned contact point(s)

Tenders or requests to participate must be sent to: The above mentioned contact point(s)

I.2)Main activity

Water

I.3)Contract award on behalf of other contracting entities

The contracting entity is purchasing on behalf of other contracting entities: no

Section II: Object of the contract

II.1)Description

II.1.1)Title attributed to the contract by the contracting entity:

FA1142 Advanced Energy Recovery from Sludge

II.1.2)Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of performance

Services
Service category No 16: Sewage and refuse disposal services; sanitation and similar services
Main site or location of works, place of delivery or of performance: Whole of Thames Water region.
NUTS code

II.1.3)Information about a public contract, a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system (DPS)

The notice involves the establishment of a framework agreement

II.1.4)Information on framework agreement

Framework agreement with several operators
maximum number of participants to the framework agreement envisaged: 3
Duration of the framework agreement

Duration in months: 84

II.1.5)Short description of the contract or purchase(s):

The bulk of the sewage sludge generated in the Thames Water catchment area is digested, with this proportion due to increase further with the construction of new assets.
Conventional anaerobic digestion typically recovers 30 % of energy value contained within sludge with the bulk of the energy potential being lost as sludge is applied to agricultural land.
Thames Water is looking for new methods to recover larger amounts of renewable energy from sewage sludge to meet regulatory, economic and environmental targets. Recent developments and success in advanced thermal recovery technology has prompted this OJEU.
Thames Water is seeking as a minimum a third party technology provider to work with us to develop a full scale (10-40 dry-tonnes/day) demonstration plant to recover renewable energy in the form of electricity, biogas and/or heat. The source being dewatered sewage sludge cake or dried sludge with a dry solids content of 17-30 % and 80-95 % respectively and an energy content of 12-16 MJ/kg dry solids. The technology could either be plasma gasification, gasification, pyrolysis, supercritical water oxidation or others.
These technologies could either be market ready or under development. We are seeking market ready technologies to meet immediate requirements. However, we may also be interested in developing technologies with potential to meet our requirements.
Allotment:
Lot 1: Technology that is already proven in the water utilities sector.
Lot 2: Technology that is proven in industries other than water.
Lot 3: Technology that is at the developmental stage and unproven.
Suppliers can apply for more than one lot if they can offer more than one technological process. Please note that awards may not be made for any or all lots.
Agreements will be awarded for a minimum of at least 3 years up to a maximum of 7 years.

II.1.6)Common procurement vocabulary (CPV)

45252000, 45252300, 71323000

II.1.7)Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)

The contract is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA): no

II.1.8)Information about lots

This contract is divided into lots: yes
Tenders may be submitted for one or more lots

II.1.9)Information about variants

Variants will be accepted: yes

II.2)Quantity or scope of the contract

II.2.1)Total quantity or scope:

Information to be provided in the invitation to negotiate.

II.2.2)Information about options

Options: yes
Description of these options: Any agreement awarded would be for an initial duration of 3 years, with options to extend annually up to a maximum overall term of 7 years.
Provisional timetable for recourse to these options:
in months: 84 (from the award of the contract)

II.2.3)Information about renewals

This contract is subject to renewal: no

II.3)Duration of the contract or time limit for completion

Duration in months: 84 (from the award of the contract)

Information about lots

Lot No: 1 Lot title: Technology that is proven in the water utilities sector

1)Short description:

Technology that would meet Thames Water’s requirements that is already being used on a production scale in another water utility for exactly the same objective

2)Common procurement vocabulary (CPV)

45252000, 45252300

Lot No: 2 Lot title: Technology that is proven in a non-water industry sector

1)Short description:

Technology that would meet Thames Water’s requirements that is already being used on a production scale in another industry but could be modified for use in the water industry.

2)Common procurement vocabulary (CPV)

45252000, 45252300

Lot No: 3 Lot title: Technology that is at the development stage and unproven

1)Short description:

Technology that could meet Thames Water’s requirements which is currently being developed and that Thames Water could influence and be involved in during the development process

2)Common procurement vocabulary (CPV)

71323000

Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information

III.1)Conditions relating to the contract

III.1.1)Deposits and guarantees required:

Bonds and/or parent company guarantees of performance and financial standing may be required.

III.1.2)Main financing conditions and payment arrangements and/or reference to the relevant provisions governing them:

Specified in Invitation to Negotiate document.

III.1.3)Legal form to be taken by the group of economic operators to whom the contract is to be awarded:

Consortia may be required to form a legal entity prior to any award.

III.1.4)Other particular conditions:

The performance of the contract is subject to particular conditions: no

III.2)Conditions for participation

III.2.1)Personal situation of economic operators, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers

Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: As detailed in section VI.3 and PQQ

III.2.2)Economic and financial ability

Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: As detailed in section VI.3 and PQQ

III.2.3)Technical capacity

Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: As detailed in section VI.3 and PQQ

III.2.4)Information about reserved contracts

III.3)Conditions specific to services contracts

III.3.1)Information about a particular profession

Execution of the service is reserved to a particular profession: no

III.3.2)Staff responsible for the execution of the service

Legal persons should indicate the names and professional qualifications of the staff responsible for the execution of the service: no

Section IV: Procedure

IV.1)Type of procedure

IV.1.1)Type of procedure

Negotiated
Some candidates have already been selected (if appropriate under certain types of negotiated procedures): no

IV.2)Award criteria

IV.2.1)Award criteria

The most economically advantageous tender in terms of the criteria stated in the specifications or in the invitation to tender or to negotiate

IV.2.2)Information about electronic auction

An electronic auction will be used: no

IV.3)Administrative information

IV.3.1)File reference number attributed by the contracting entity:

1142

IV.3.2)Previous publication(s) concerning the same contract

IV.3.3)Conditions for obtaining specifications and additional documents

Time limit for receipt of requests for documents or for accessing documents: ..

IV.3.4)Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate

15.2.2013 – 12:00

IV.3.5)Language(s) in which tenders or requests to participate may be drawn up

English.

IV.3.6)Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender

IV.3.7)Conditions for opening of tenders

Section VI: Complementary information

VI.1)Information about recurrence

This is a recurrent procurement: yes
Estimated timing for further notices to be published: 84 months

VI.2)Information about European Union funds

The contract is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: no

VI.3)Additional information:

Format for requested participation:
All suppliers who wish to respond to this OJEU notice to indicate their interest in the tender, must request a ‘pre-qualification questionnaire’ (PQQ) document. The PQQ will be available from 18.2.2013 and should be requested via email from (procurement.support.centre@thameswater.co.uk) no later than 15.2.2013.

Further instructions for bidders are within the PQQ.
Variants will be accepted, if submitted in addition to a compliant bid.
Weighted selection criteria will be used to evaluate the responses to the PQQ, as set out in the PQQ:
Contracts will be under English law.
General
Thames Water Utilities Limited reserves the right to require further information or clarification from an applicant before considering its response.
Thames Water Utilities Limited reserves the right to exclude an applicant from the procurement process if it is subsequently determined that any information supplied was inaccurate, incomplete or untrue and was relied on for selection purposes.
Thames Water Utilities Limited reserves the right to make no award as a result of this procurement process. Except for the framework agreements, if any, concluded with the successful tenderers, nothing in the procurement process shall create a contract, whether express or implied, between Thames Water Utilities Limited and any applicant.
Thames Water Utilities Limited (including its employees and advisers) does not make any representations, warranties or other commitments, whether express or implied, in relation to the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of the information provided to applicants in this Contact Notice or otherwise in connection with this tender, except as may be specifically agreed in any contract concluded at the end of this tender process.
Thames Water Utilities Limited may disclose any information if required to do so by any applicable laws or regulations (including but not limited to, the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000, to the extent that these may now or in the future apply to Thames Water Utilities Limited), any requirements or guidelines of any competent regulatory body, and any order of any court of competent jurisdiction.

VI.4)Procedures for appeal

VI.4.1)Body responsible for appeal procedures

VI.4.2)Lodging of appeals

Precise information on deadline(s) for lodging appeals: Thames Water Utilities Limited will incorporate a standstill period at the point information on the award of the contract is communicated to tenderers. That notification will provide full information on the award decision. The standstill period, which will be for a minimum of 10 calendar days, provides time for unsuccessful tenderers to challenge the award decision before the contract is entered into.
The Utilities Contracts Regulations (SI 2006 No 6) provide for aggrieved parties who have been harmed or are at risk of harm by a breach of the rules to take action in the High Court (England, Wales and Northern Ireland).

VI.4.3)Service from which information about the lodging of appeals may be obtained

VI.5)Date of dispatch of this notice:24.1.2013