West Oxfordshire District Council keen to hear from local solar installation firms
West Oxfordshire District Council is currently inviting competitive tenders for a scope of works to install solar photovoltaic (PV) panels on a number of its buildings.
The works will form the pilot phase of a project investigating the wider decarbonisation of the Council’s estate as the authority looks to deliver its ambition of becoming net-zero by 2030.
In addition to the installation of the PV panels, the Council is seeking to procure battery storage systems where appropriate, which will allow any excess electricity generated by the panels to be stored for future use, ensuring the benefits of generating clean energy are retained rather than fed to the grid.
The Council is especially keen to receive bids from suppliers in the Oxfordshire region as the opportunity to invest in the local economy and the desire to minimise the overall carbon footprint of the works are key considerations.
Councillor Andrew Prosser, Executive Member for Climate Change at West Oxfordshire District Council, said: “The Council has just recently updated its Council Plan and set out our priority areas for the next four years which include driving down carbon emissions from Council operations, and supporting greater investment in renewable energy infrastructure in the district. We are pleased that we will soon be at the stage of appointing a contractor for this current project, which, once complete, should deliver significant carbon and financial savings for the Council, ultimately making our operations more sustainable."
Switching to sources of low-carbon energy and away from power derived from fossil fuels is a key priority for the Council - an ambition outlined in its Carbon Action Plan.
Currently 12% of the Council’s greenhouse gas emissions are the result of gas and electricity used to power and heat its offices and other properties under Council ownership. A further 37% of Council greenhouse gas emissions are accounted for by its leisure centre complexes and facilities.
Companies interested in tendering for all or part of the current schedule of works, or interested in receiving notifications of future opportunities, need to register on the Council’s procurement portal: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/publicagroup/aspx/Home
The closing date for submissions is 11 April 2023. Details of the tender can be found on the Government Contracts Finder database (ref: IT-357-479-CDC0479P): Installation of photovoltaic energy generation systems and battery storage on Council owned Properties across West Oxfordshire District Council, Forest of Dean District Council and Cotswold District Council - Pilot Phase - Contracts Finder