Procurement for the Design, Build, Operation and Maintenance of a Solar PV Plant

bp Aberdeen Hydrogen Energy Limited (bpAHEL) is a Joint Venture (JV) between bp and Aberdeen City Council (ACC), secured through a public procurement process. The JV has been created with the purpose of delivering a scalable green hydrogen production, storage and distribution facility (hydrogen refuelling station) in the city. The hydrogen refuelling station will be powered by renewable energy, including a purpose-built Solar PV Plant.

The purpose of this notice is to inform potential bidders of the opportunity to submit a tender to design, build, operate and maintain the Solar PV Plant.

The Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub Solar PV Plant will be a ground mounted PV system at the site of the former Ness landfill, which is located 2 km south of Aberdeen city centre, on Coast Road adjacent to Nigg Bay, to the south of Aberdeen Harbour and approximately 4km northeast of Cove Bay. The Contractor should design the solar plant taking into consideration that this is located on a capped landfill site, which still requires safe management by the incumbent waste management contractor via a venting and drainage system. The site will be linked by an underground connection to the hydrogen production plant and vehicle re-fuelling facility.

The Works to be undertaken by the Contractor relate to the civil and mechanical construction works of the solar PV plant and all electrical works to (but not including) a metering circuit breaker on site (the Connection Point).

The Contractor shall provide:

1. Design, procurement, installation, construction, commissioning and testing for the solar installation Works for the project.

2. Project management of the Works including progress reporting to the Employer.

3. All mechanical infrastructure within the site.

4. Surveys, design, power system, and provide information to support grid compliance studies as required to offload, install, commission, and test.

5. All electrical infrastructure up to (but not including) the onsite metering circuit breaker (Connection Point). This includes PV modules, DC string cabling, AC cabling, transformer and inverters, earthing, lighting, small power and UPS systems.

6. Civil, structural, and building works for the site including transformer stations, ground works, drainage, foundations, access roads, fencing, CCTV, and landscaping.

7. Control infrastructure for the power plant control system including, inter alia, the overarching energy management system, monitoring system, and any other necessary hardware.

8. Provision for the connection of a leased line fibre optic or other communications system to allow for remote access and operation of the site, including communication with the solar farm. Latency and connection speeds to be confirmed by the Employer.

9. Temporary power to all equipment within the site until the grid connection has been made.

10. Commissioning of all equipment supplied and installed to all relevant regulations and standards.

11. Landscaping of the site in accordance with the planning permission.

12. O&M services for the first two years between Provisional Acceptance Certificate (PAC) and Final Acceptance Certificate (FAC). There will be an option to extend the contract for O&M services for an additional 3 years (maximum of 5 years in total).

The scope above is not intended to be exhaustive but the Contractor will be required to deliver all plant and systems necessary to safely operate the solar PV plant in the market described above.