Offshore Wind Test and Demonstration Programme:lease of seabed rights

Offshore Wind Test and Demonstration Programme: lease of seabed rights off Blyth

United Kingdom-London: Energy and related services

2014/S 098-171658

Contract notice

Services

Directive 2004/18/EC

Section I: Contracting authority

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

The Crown Estate
16 New Burlington Place
For the attention of: Ian Bryan
W1S 2HX London
UNITED KINGDOM
E-mail: ian.bryan@thecrownestate.co.uk

Internet address(es):

General address of the contracting authority: www.thecrownestate.co.uk

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

Specifications and additional documents (including documents for competitive dialogue and 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)Type of the contracting authority

Other: Crown Body

I.3)Main activity

Other: Property Management

I.4)Contract award on behalf of other contracting authorities

The contracting authority is purchasing on behalf of other contracting authorities: no

Section II: Object of the contract

II.1)Description

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

The Offshore Wind Test and Demonstration Programme – lease of seabed rights off Blyth.

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

Services
Service category No 27: Other services
Main site or location of works, place of delivery or of performance: Seabed off Blyth within UK territorial waters.

NUTS code UK

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

II.1.4)Information on framework agreement

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

The Crown Estate is offering an opportunity to lease development rights for an area of seabed off the coast of Blyth within United Kingdom territorial waters for the purpose of deploying an offshore wind test and demonstration project.
The site is a 14 square kilometre area situated off the coast of Blyth and has been consented for the deployment of an up to a 99.9 MW wind farm. The site is consented to accommodate a test and demonstration project of 3 arrays in water depths of 35, 45 and 55 m (respectively) with up to 5 turbines in each array. The blade tip height 195 m.
A Marine Licence from the Marine Management Organisation (Offshore Marine Licence L2013/00303) and a planning consent under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1998 were awarded for the site in October 2013 and it is anticipated that these consents will be made available to the successful tenderer.
The Crown Estate is looking for projects to come forward which will have a minimum of 70% of the installed generating capacity being from prototype or Series 0 wind turbines that have not previously been deployed commercially. In addition to this requirement, other innovative technologies, such as foundations, may also be included.
Applicants should be aware that there will be a strong preference at the ITT stage for those projects that demonstrate a credible plan and the necessary resourcing to deliver a project that commences operation in the 2016/17 financial year. The Crown Estate will consider bids that would construct a project beyond this time horizon, subject to a longstop date of construction commencing prior to 3 October 2018.
Expressions of Interest and registration for pre-qualification are invited from 12 May to 11.6.2014 which will be followed by an Invitation to Tender on 1 July with tenders required by 15.8.2014. Responses should propose projects that demonstrate up to 15 turbines with installed capacity within the existing consents (99.9 MW).
Subject to the terms of the tender the successful tenderer will be awarded an Agreement for Lease over the aforementioned site with rights to step through to a Lease subject to satisfactorily meeting agreed conditions.

II.1.6)Common procurement vocabulary (CPV)

71314000

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

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

II.1.8)Lots

This contract is divided into lots: no

II.1.9)Information about variants

Variants will be accepted: no

II.2)Quantity or scope of the contract

II.2.1)Total quantity or scope:

II.2.2)Information about options

II.2.3)Information about renewals

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

Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information

III.1)Conditions relating to the contract

III.1.1)Deposits and guarantees required:

Parent company or other guarantees will be required.

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

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

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 set out in the relevant PQQ and the relevant pre-qualification invitation documents.

III.2.2)Economic and financial ability

Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: As set out in the relevant PQQ and the relevant pre-qualification invitation documents.
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required: As set out in the relevant PQQ and the relevant pre-qualification invitation documents.

III.2.3)Technical capacity

Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met:
As set out in the relevant PQQ and the relevant pre-qualification invitation documents.

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

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.1.2)Limitations on the number of operators who will be invited to tender or to participate

IV.1.3)Reduction of the number of operators during the negotiation or dialogue

Recourse to staged procedure to gradually reduce the number of solutions to be discussed or tenders to be negotiated yes

IV.2)Award criteria

IV.2.1)Award criteria

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

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 authority:

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

IV.3.3)Conditions for obtaining specifications and additional documents or descriptive document

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

11.6.2014 – 13:00

IV.3.5)Date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates

1.7.2014

IV.3.6)Language(s) in which tenders or requests to participate may be drawn up

English.

IV.3.7)Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender

IV.3.8)Conditions for opening of tenders

Section VI: Complementary information

VI.1)Information about recurrence

This is a recurrent procurement: no

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

This application process will be controlled using The Crown Estate’s eTendering Portal – https://etendering.thecrownestate.co.uk/web/login.shtml).

In order to express interest in the application process, log on to the eTendering Portal, register to participate in the project and submit a pre-qualification questionnaire and later (for pre-qualified bidders) submit tenders.
If you have not done so in the past interested parties must register to use The Crown Estate’s eTendering Portal. A supplier guide to using the eTendering Portal is available via the help section on the eTendering portal.
Interested parties should note that all questions relating to the interpretation of any part of this tender must be submitted through the eTendering Portal messaging service.
For the avoidance of doubt submission of a request to participate is by the return, via the eTendering Portal, of a completed pre-qualification questionnaire by no later than the date identified in Section II.1.5.
Further information about the competition as well as the information which interested parties must provide in applying for pre-qualification in the competition will be made available in the Pre-Qualification Invitation and PQQ documents which are accessible through the Crown Estate’s eTendering Portal.
The Crown Estate is not subject to public procurement regulation and is not, therefore, required to advertise its requirements in the Official Journal of the EU or indeed to comply with any other obligation relating to public procurement which may emanate from the relevant public procurement EU directives, UK implementing legislation or the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU. The publication of this or any other notice is voluntary and does not set a precedent.
In publicising this or any other notice, The Crown Estate is not required and does not undertake to comply with any of the legal authorities referred to above and therefore accepts no liability in that respect. Accordingly, references to the negotiated procedure in this notice do not constitute reference to the negotiated procedure with prior publication of a contract notice as described in Directive 2004/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31.3.2004 on the coordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts (the “Directive”), and should not be construed in any way as constituting an undertaking by The Crown Estate to carry out a tender process in line with the requirements that apply to the carrying out of a tender process by means of the negotiated procedure with prior publication of a contract notice under the Directive.
Compliance by candidates with all relevant legislation is required both in the contract award procedure and during the term of any resulting contract.
The publication of this notice in no way obliges The Crown Estate to commence any competitive tender process.
The Crown Estate is not and shall not be liable for any costs incurred by those expressing an interest or negotiating or tendering for this contract.
The information contained in this notice is neither exhaustive nor binding, and may be amended at the time of issue of any further notice or notices or at any other time at the discretion of The Crown Estate.
Tenders and all supporting documentation must be priced in pounds sterling.
Any resulting contract will be considered a contract made in England according to English law.
The Crown Estate reserves the right not to award a contract, to make whatever changes it sees fit to the structure and timing of the procurement process and to cancel the process in its entirety at any stage.

VI.4)Procedures for appeal

VI.4.1)Body responsible for appeal procedures

VI.4.2)Lodging of appeals

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

VI.5)Date of dispatch of this notice:

19.5.2014