CHESHIRE EAST PROCUREMENT OF A JOINT VENTURE DELIVERY PARTNER FOR HEAT NETWORK DEVELOPMENT

Cheshire East Council has an ambitious approach to energy. It has developed an Energy Vision to help address the challenges of energy provision in a low carbon future.

The Energy Vision has three key objectives:1. Affordable Energy – Putting Residents First 2.

Growing Energy Businesses – Developing a local energy economy 3. Independent Energy – Secure, decentralised and locally managed energy services.

To realise the vision the Council has developed the Cheshire East Energy Framework which sets out the policy, strategic framework and outline business case for a range of renewable energy technologies which could be adopted to achieve the energy vision. The Council wishes to procure a commercial partner with which to enter into a corporate joint venture arrangement.

The purpose of the joint venture, which will have an intended duration of 30 years, is to seek commercial benefit to the joint venture partners by delivering heat networks in Cheshire East. The commercial partner will be asked, as part of its proposals, to outline its business case to: - maximise the use of renewable resources; - bring the greatest commercial benefit to the joint venture; and - deliver a specimen project based on exploitation of the geo-thermal resources found in the area.

These proposals of the successful bidder will be taken forward, as and when the joint venture is formed, as part of its contractual business plan. The commercial partner will then be expected to bring forward proposed projects, based on this business plan, for consideration through the governance structure of the joint venture company.

The commercial partner will of course be able to bring forward further projects, which fall within the aims of the joint venture but were not included in the original business plan, as the joint venture develops over time. Bidders should note that the Council is not required to take forward any particular project.

Specific projects will be undertaken only where the joint venture, through the governance procedures established, elects to do so. The Council intends that the joint venture will, following its business plan and using its commercial expertise, ultimately deliver the design, build, financing, operation and maintenance of: heat networks which: - maximise renewable energy sources for district heating; and - deliver an energy centre which can/will utilise deep geothermal energy as base load as part of the phased development of a heat network - - It is anticipated that the business plan will deliver on these aims in a way that minimises the risk to the partnership by, for example, appropriate use of turnkey solutions in relation to individual projects.