
Website Saba Electric Company
Issue Date: October 25th, 2024
Submission Deadline: November 24th, 2024
I. INTRODUCTION
Saba Electric Company N.V. (SEC) is issuing this Request for Qualifications for interested parties to provide information to qualify for an upcoming tender for Engineering, Procurement, and Construction services for a utility-scale ground-mounted solar PV plant with battery energy storage system (BESS) project at Giles Quarters, Saba. The approximate plant capacities are 2MW solar and 7.2MWh BESS.
The proposed Phase 3 solar PV with BESS renewable energy plant will be located on a 34,530 square meter site at Giles Quarter. It will be interconnected to the Saba grid either by extending existing Feeder #3 by 1km or by a new 2-3km 12kV feeder from the SEC Power Station (Feeder #4).
The project is intended to:
- Increase renewable energy penetration by installing a ground-mounted 2 MW solar PV array with a 7.2 MWh battery energy storage system at Giles Quarters. This is expected to increase renewable energy on the Saba electricity grid, and immediately impacting SEC customers’ energy costs.
- Contribute to the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Kingdom), the Public Entity Saba (PES), and SEC’s climate change mitigation strategies as set out in their Energy Sector Strategy 2020-2025, the island (PES & SEC) has ambitious goals of reaching 60% penetration by 2025 from the current 40% penetration.
- Seamlessly integrate the RE and existing technologies to improve the quality and reliability of electricity services to the local customer base while maximizing the efficiencies of the joint systems.
- Increase resilience in the face of more frequent and severe weather events, as the microgrid will be able to decouple from the grid, thus providing electricity to the new Black Rock Harbor Port facility in times of disruption to the grid supply.
Through this RFQ process, your company is invited to submit information for qualification assessment to participate in the upcoming Request for Proposal (RFP) round.
Milestone Description | Date |
Request for Qualifications Issuance | 25 October, 2024 |
Deadline for submittal of “Questions” for Questions & Answers (Q&A). | 23:59 hrs. 19 November, 2024 |
Proposal Submission Deadline [Electronic submission as per Section II – Instructions to Applicants] | 23:59 hrs. 24 November, 2024 |
Notification of Applicants as Shortlisted or Not Shortlisted | 09 December, 2024 |
Request for Proposal Issuance | 31 December, 2024 |
Table 1 – Proposed RFQ Schedule with Milestone Descriptions
II. INTRODUCTION TO APPLICANTS
During this Qualification Phase, applicants can qualify as participants in this selection phase. For this purpose, SEC will evaluate applicants who have submitted a request to qualify on the basis of the grounds for eligibility and the shortlisting criteria as described in this RFQ.
The applicant must fulfill the requirements set forth in this RFQ and completely fill out the forms. Incompletely filled out forms may lead to exclusion from (further) participation in the tender procedure.
Six to eight applicants will be invited to participate in the RFP.
Parties that do not qualify for participation in the RFP through this qualification procedure will not be allowed to participate in the RFP.
Project Name: Saba RE Phase 3 Project
Date of Issue: October 25, 2024
Tasks and Objectives: SEC (the Employer), in collaboration with Public Entity Saba (OLS), through its Renewable Energy Client Engineering Consults RMI, and funded by Kingdom and EU, is publishing this Prequalification Document (PD) to solicit prospective applicants for the proposed Saba RE Phase 3 Project.
Application Process: To develop a list of qualified firms, the Employer requests that applicants complete the relevant Application Forms in Section V in accordance with the Prequalification Criteria and Requirements detailed in Section IV. Specific relevant experience and qualifications related to solar PV, battery storage, microgrid projects, and EPC services should be included.
Completed Application Forms shall be submitted electronically by 23:59 PM Saba local time on November 24, 2024. All submissions received after the deadline will be rejected.
To direct and coordinate this tender process, the Employer has appointed as Administrators (“administrators”) the following persons:
Mr. Owen Lewis
Operational Manager – Islands Energy Program Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI)
Email: [email protected]
Please Note that Mr. Lewis is this project’s main/primary “Point of Contact.”
and
Mr. Fidel Neverson
Technical Manager – Islands Energy Program Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI)
Email: [email protected]
and
Ms. Francine Zagers
Regulatory Policy Advisor
Saba Electric Company (SEC)
Email: [email protected]
Submissions should be sent to the administrators via email addresses above with the subject line: “Saba RE Phase 3 Project RFQ Submission”.
The Employer, through a tender administrator, will formally notify all applicants of their outcome status (qualified or not qualified) to conclude the RFQ application process.
The Applicant shall bear all costs associated with preparing and submitting its application. The Employer will in no case be responsible or liable for those costs, regardless of the conduct or outcome of the prequalification process.
A firm may apply for prequalification both individually and as part of a joint venture. If prequalified, it will not be permitted to bid for the same contract as an individual firm and as a part of the joint venture. Bids submitted in violation of this procedure will be rejected. In the case of a joint venture, all partners shall be jointly and severally liable for the execution of the entire Contract in accordance with the Contract terms. The JV shall nominate a Representative who shall have the authority to conduct all business for and on behalf of any and all of the partners of the JV during the prequalification process, bidding (in the event the JV submits a Bid), and contract execution (in the event the JV is awarded the Contract).
The Employer may reject any application that is not responsive to the requirements of the prequalification document. If the information furnished by the Applicant is incomplete or otherwise requires clarification, and the Applicant fails to provide satisfactory clarification and/or missing information within the allotted time, the Applicant may be disqualified.
The evaluation of applications shall be conducted only according to the criteria in Section IV.
From the deadline for submission of Applications to the time of notification of the prequalification results, any Applicant who wishes to contact the Employer on any matter related to the prequalification process may do so but only in writing via the tender administrators at the email addresses stated above.
To assist in the evaluation of Applications, the Employer may, at its discretion, ask any Applicant for a clarification of its application, which shall be submitted within a stated reasonable period of time. Any request for clarification and all clarifications from the Applicant shall be in writing. If an Applicant does not provide clarifications of the information requested and/or documents requested by the date and time set in the Employer’s request for clarification, its application shall be evaluated based on the information and documents available at the time of evaluation of the Application.
Requests for Clarification: Applicants seeking clarification on matters related to this prequalification should email their questions to the tender administrators at the email addresses stated above and include “Saba RE Phase 3 Project RFQ Q&A”. in the subject line.
The deadline for submission of clarifications is 11:59 PM Saba local time on November 19, 2024. The Employer will respond in writing to any request for clarification provided that such request is received prior to the aforementioned deadline for requests for clarifications. The Employer shall respond to any clarifications received, including a description of the inquiry, to all registered applicants without identifying its source. Should the Employer deem it necessary to amend the prequalification document as a result of a clarification, it shall do so by issuing an addendum. To ensure that all potential applicants receive addenda, applicants must register for this RFQ by emailing the tender administrators requesting the prequalification forms. All addenda will also be published on the SEC and RMI websites where the RFQ was published. To give prospective Applicants reasonable time to take an addendum into account in preparing their Applications, the Employer may, at its discretion, extend the deadline for the submission of Applications. As such, prospective Applicants are required to refer to the Employer’s and RMI’s websites periodically over the course of the prequalification process. The website addresses are as follows: (https://www.powerupsaba.com/ & https://www.re.powerupsaba.com/ & https://rmi.org/our-work/islands-energy-program/islands-open-projects/ ).
Eligibility: An Applicant may be a firm that is a private entity, subject to the requirements outlined in this section, or any combination of them in the form of a Joint Venture (JV) with the formal intent, as evidenced by a letter of intent, to enter into an agreement. In the case of a joint venture, all partners shall be jointly and severally liable for the execution of the entire Contract in accordance with the Contract terms. The JV shall nominate a Representative who shall have the authority to conduct all business for and on behalf of any and all of the partners of the JV during the prequalification process, bidding (in the event the JV submits a Bid) and during contract execution (in the event the JV is awarded the Contract). The maximum number of accepted partners in a JV will be limited to three (3).
The eligibility of the bidder shall be based on responding to this RFQ per the following rules. A corporation/company/firm/supplier is eligible if it satisfies the following criteria:
(a) An applicant must respond to this RFQ to be eligible to be considered for shortlisting of the RFP.
(b) The applicant and, in the case of any Joint Venture, the individual members composing such Joint Venture must be a business organization duly organized, existing, registered, and in good standing under the laws of its country of domicile
(c) Applications may be submitted by local or foreign Applicants from any country eligible for public tenders under the laws of Saba. Evidence of the legal status of its business organization must be provided.
(e) No Joint Venture applicant may include a member who is an affiliate of another Applicant or a member of another Joint Venture Applicant. Any introduction of, or changes to, any of the joint venture or consortium members by a Joint Venture Applicant after submission of its application must be approved by the Employer.
(f) The Employer may review the references provided by the applicants as part of the evaluation process. Fraudulent statements of references may lead to disqualification of the Bidder.
Prohibited Practices and Other Integrity-Related Matters: The Employer requires applicants to observe the highest ethical standard during the application preparation process. No applicant shall, directly or through any employee, servant, agent, or affiliate, engage in any Prohibited Acts in connection with the preparation or submission of its application.
For this RFQ process, the definition of “Prohibited Practices” is as follows:
- “corrupt practice” is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting, directly or indirectly, of anything of value to influence improperly the action of another party;
- “fraudulent practice” is any act or omission, including a misrepresentation, that knowingly or recklessly misleads, or attempts to mislead, a party to obtain a financial or other benefit or to avoid an obligation;
- collusive practice” is an arrangement between two or more parties designed to achieve an improper purpose, including influencing improperly the actions of another party;
- “coercive practice” is impairing or harming, or threatening to impair or harm, directly or indirectly, any party, or the property of the party, to influence improperly the actions of a party; and
- “obstructive practice” is: deliberately destroying, falsifying, altering, or concealing of evidence related to an investigation or making false statements or false allegation to employer in order to impede an employer investigation into allegations of an integrity violation particularly Prohibited Practices; and/or threatening, harassing, or intimidating any party to delay or prevent it from sharing evidence or disclosing its knowledge of matters relevant to the investigation or from pursuing the investigation;
For the purposes of this RFQ, the term “Prohibited Acts” shall have the following meaning:
Offering, giving or agreeing to offer or give to, or accepting or agreeing to accept from, any person employed by or on behalf of the employer or employer’s representative, an affiliate of the employer, any public body or governmental authority any bribe, gift, gratuity or commission or consideration of any kind as an inducement or reward:
- for doing or forbearing to do any act in relation to this RFQ, relating to the Works or the Project; or
- for showing or not forbearing to show favor or disfavor to any person in relation to this RFQ, with the employer or employer’s representative, an affiliate of the employer, any public body or governmental authority relating to the Works or the Project;
- for submitting an application to the employer or employer’s representative, an affiliate of the employer or any public body or governmental authority in connection with which a commission has been paid or has been agreed to be paid by the applicant or by any person on the applicant’s behalf or otherwise to the applicant’s knowledge, unless the employer or the employer’s representative, a relevant affiliate of the employer and any relevant public body or governmental authority are notified by the applicant of the existence of and particulars of any such commission;
- for committing any offence:
- under applicable Laws in respect of fraudulent acts; or
- at common law in respect of fraudulent acts,
- for defrauding or attempting to defraud or conspiring to defraud the employer, the employer’s representative, an affiliate of the employer, any public body or governmental authority;
In the event that the employer’s representative determines that an applicant has at any time prior to or following the RFQ submission date, committed any Prohibited Act in relation to the RFQ procurement process, either directly or through any employee, servant, agent, or affiliate, the employer’s representatives may at its sole discretion reject the applicant’s application and disqualify the applicant from any further involvement in the RFQ process. For the avoidance of doubt any Prohibited Act committed by any person with the prior knowledge or approval of the applicant (through the applicant’s directors and/or officers or otherwise) shall be deemed to have been committed by the applicant itself.
III. PROJECT INFORMATION
The island of Saba is located in the Lesser Antilles chain of the Caribbean and is a public entity within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Saba is a small island even in the Caribbean context, with an area of just approximately 5 square miles and a population of just over 2,000, but it has still become a leader in the regional renewable energy space, having achieved a renewable energy penetration of around 40%. As set out in their Energy Sector Strategy 2020-2025, the island has ambitious goals of reaching 60% penetration by 2025. This will no doubt involve the electricity sector. Saba Electric Company N.V. (SEC) is the utility company appointed distributor with a production license and, as such, is responsible for the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. In collaboration with the Public Entity Saba (OLS), SEC seeks to increase its RE fraction as part of its overall sustainable energy strategy to generate 100% renewable energy electricity. SEC’s existing operational facilities consist of 5 diesel gensets that provide a total of 4.9 MW of capacity to the grid and 2.1 MWp of installed solar PV capacity plus 2.3 MWh of battery storage from the Saba RE Project Phases 1 & 2. Together, these resources are more than enough to meet the 2023 annual energy demand of approximately 9.8 GWh. This demand, however, is projected to increase to approximately 10 GWh due to planned construction and development activities. Phase 3 of the Saba RE Project (2MW solar PV with 7.2MWh BESS) aims to increase the share of RE in the electricity mix to at least 60%, thereby accomplishing the goal set in its Strategy and providing cleaner, more affordable energy to its residents.
RMI has been engaged as Renewable Energy Client Engineering Consults to support SEC in developing and implementing Phase 3 of the Saba RE Project.
This RFQ aims to prequalify qualified bidders to bid on and deliver the Saba RE Phase 3 project. Only these prequalified bidders will then receive the RFP document package, which will contain further project information that they can use to develop their proposals. SEC and OLS will provide the site for installing the proposed solar PV array and BESS. In addition, SEC will share via the RFP the results of a number of project-specific de-risking activities, including the following: site surveys (boundary & topographical), geotechnical and hydrology investigations, an environmental and social impact assessment, site plan, glint & glare study, etc.
The Saba RE Project Phase 3 evaluation committee will evaluate this RFQ and the impending RFP. The RFQ will result in a list of shortlisted bidders, and a contractor will be selected and contracted under an EPC arrangement from the RFP process.
The EPC contractor would be required to undertake detailed engineering, supply all required materials and equipment, install the solar PV, battery storage, power management systems, and connect and integrate the systems into the SEC grid. There’s an option for the Contractor to operate and maintain the solar PV and storage systems for a period of at least two (2) years following commissioning. Knowledge transfer in the form of SEC staff training in the specifics of managing the new microgrid is mandated.
The materials provided will be shared with the Saba RE Phase 3 project’s evaluation committee to assess qualifications to bid on the upcoming Saba RE Phase 3 Project. On completion and approval of the RFQ evaluation exercise, each respondent will be notified whether or not they qualify to advance to the RFP stage.
Companies that wish to be pre-qualified as EPC candidates must:
- Register by emailing the administrators with the Subject “Saba Re Phase 3 EPC RFQ Application Forms” to request the prequalification forms (Word files).
- Complete and submit the applicable forms in Section V with supporting documentation as this RFQ mandates as part of the application by the submission deadline outlined in Section I.
NB: For this RFQ process, SEC requires potential bidders to share their experience in EPC services for projects involving constructing and integrating utility-scale solar PV and battery storage systems into power systems with existing fossil fuel-based generation.
IV. QUALIFICATION SELECTION CRITERIA and REQUIREMENTS
No applicant shall make unsolicited contact with the SEC/RMI team between the date of submission of bids and notification of successful (shortlisted) or unsuccessful applicants. The SEC/RMI team will be responsible for contacting the applicant(s) in writing should any clarifications on an application be required. This ensures a transparent and fair evaluation process and instills confidence in its fairness and transparency.
This Section contains all the methods, criteria, and requirements the SEC (the Employer) shall use to evaluate Applications. Applicants must meet the criteria detailed in the following table to qualify to advance to the Request for Proposal (RFP) stage. The information to be provided in relation to each requirement and the definitions of the corresponding terms are included in the respective Application Forms.
Bid selection process
The evaluation, review, and approval of the evaluation report will be the responsibilities of a Saba Electric Company (SEC) and RMI team as follows:
- Evaluation of applications è SEC & RMI 3-person team.
- Drafting of Evaluation Report è SEC & RMI 3-person team
- Review and approval of Evaluation Report è SEC & RMI 3-person Team
Standstill provisions shall NOT apply. Upon conclusion of the RFQ evaluation process, all Applicants will be notified of this procurement outcome as “Shortlisted/Qualified” or “Not Shortlisted/Not Qualified.”
- Administrative Compliance of Applications [Responsive / Non-Responsive] / [Pass/Fail]
Table 1 – Qualification Criteria and Requirements
All applications will be reviewed to determine whether they are responsive or non-responsive to the requirements of this RFQ, i.e., “Administrative compliance.” The following factors will be considered when evaluating the administrative compliance of bids:
- Have the applications been delivered as per the Submission of Bid Instructions? Yes/No
- Have the applications been delivered by the submission deadline? Yes/No
- Do the applications contain the RFQ Submission Requirements as per Section IV Qualification Criteria and Requirements of the RFQ document? Yes/No
NB: Only applications that are substantially responsive to the qualification criteria and requirements in Table 1 are to be assessed against Table 2, Rated Criteria and Requirements.