Scottish Water has gone out to tender with a contract for the supply and installation of solar photovoltaic equipment worth up to £9 million.

Scottish Water is looking to appoint up to three suppliers to the framework agreement, which will run for up to three years - an initial period of 1 year with two further 1 year extension options.

Estimated total value of purchases for the entire duration of the framework agreement is put at between £3 million to £9 million.

Scottish Water, one of the largest consumers of electricity in Scotland, currently generates around 7 % of the energy it consumes. The company believes that through further innovative use of its assets it is capable of significantly increasing its self-generation potential.

Via wholly owned subsidiary Scottish Water Horizons which is charged with developing renewables and leveraging commercial value from its assets, Scottish Water is now looking for suitable companies for delivery of its PV generation potential through the following preferred model:

• Framework partners are expected to be involved throughout the development, consent, design and operating stages of the project lifecycle;
• Potential sites for PV array installs will be identified across the SW asset base by SWH Project Manager(s) on an ongoing basis and offered to the Framework partners through a mini competition.

Among the outcomes required are:

• Energy generated by the delivered projects can offset on-site asset consumption (where applicable), and export direct to the grid where this is not possible/appropriate;
• The PV arrays must have the capability of safe and secure integration into existing asset infrastructure;
• Energy storage solutions should be promoted to Scottish Water Horizons in scheme designs where suitable.

Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate is 10^th December 2015. Click here to access the tender documentation.