Cheshire and Warrington Community Energy Support

Cheshire and Warrington is home to a substantial and thriving range of community energy organisations. The current pipeline of projects in feasibility and development totals 40MWp, with a portfolio including interesting and varied schemes covering solar, hydroelectricity, energy storage, and more. Many of these groups have been supported over the last two years by the Community Energy Fund, managed by the North West Net Zero Hub on behalf of DESNZ, which funded feasibility studies and supported viable projects on their journey from ideation to delivery.

In February this year. DESNZ published their local power plan, highlighting their commitment to delivery 8GW of new local power projects by 2030, and Great British Energy have launched their new community fund - inviting expressions of interest from the community and looking to support rapid deployment via a range of developing finance options. At this critical juncture, ECW, in coordination with the North West Net Zero Hub, is seeking to appoint an organisation to work with the community energy sector across Cheshire and Warrington - supporting the growth and successful delivery of those projects in receipt of Community Energy Fund grant, enabling new groups to progress from ideation to delivery, and driving a more collaborative and integrated sector with increased peer-to-peer learning and knowledge transfer. This commission will support local groups during this key transitional moment, helping groups to access the funding required to progress, and supporting them to navigate any barriers encountered as projects enter the planning and construction phases. Supporting our groups during this transition will ensure that Cheshire and Warrington groups are well positioned to make the most of these exciting opportunities. ECW encourages bids from community organisations, charities, anchor organisations, and specialist advisory consultants. Consortium bids are encouraged where these provide best value-for-money. The successful bidder(s) will be required to deliver services in accordance with all tender documents and the contract to be placed with the successful bidder. Tenderers are requested to study the specification in detail and ensure that the specified requirements can be met and thus your understanding of our requirements is reflected in your Pricing Schedule return.

ECW wish to secure efficiencies and economies of scale by means of a procurement exercise for meeting the requirements detailed within this documentation. The principle benefits anticipated by ECW in this procurement include;

· Ability to maximise opportunities for best value and efficient services

· To allow bidders to explore efficiencies, which may be possible by suggesting innovative and cost-effective solutions

· Presentation of cost savings to ECW in order to maximise economical operational efficiency and value for money

· A resultant contract that meets the tender requirements and supports ECW with their ambition