Overview
REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST
The Sustainable Energy Unit (SEU) of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) is seeking individual consultants who are solar and battery energy storage professionals and specialists to be included in CDB’s solar-PV and energy storage system consultancy and advisory roster (S-BESSCAR). Where relevant, CDB will draw on the S-BESSCAR for candidates to provide technical assistance being pursued directly by CDB in its Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs) or as part of CDB-sponsored programmes under the Bank’s Accelerated Sustainable Energy and Resilience Transition (ASERT) 2030 framework. In addition, CDB reserves the right to use this database to promote experts to other international agencies or programmes/projects.
Assignments will be to support utility-scale solar-PV and BESS for BMCs or government-owned electric utilities, as well for distributed energy resources systems (DERS) include but not limited to:
- Providing project management services to BMCs (among the key stakeholders), including to develop project charter, workplan and schedule; and identify key stakeholders and coordinate relevant meetings while facilitating documentation and communication.
- Developing objective and scope of proposed solar-PV and BESS system and initial sizing of the potential solar and storage assets, taking into consideration the IRRP.
- Gathering relevant data and conducting technical and economic analyses on the electricity system in the country to establish benefit and cost trajectories, and relevant risks for integrating solar-PV and energy storage options.
- Supporting the process for selection of potential sites, including providing consideration for natural disaster and climate risks.
- Developing high-level information on technical issues of integration, upgrades required, and potential operational challenges for the electricity system.
- Conducting various elements of the preliminary design:
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- Assessment of the solar-PV, BESS energy and capacity needed for the dispatch.
- Refinement of sizing of the potential solar and storage assets through the use of appropriate analytical tools.
- Developing Request for Proposals (RFPs) and supporting the evaluation process:
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- Preparing complete components of engineering, procurement and construction solicitation documents: such as draft TORs, Requests for Qualifications (RFQ), and RFPs.
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- Evaluating proposals submitted through the RFP process and complete evaluation report.
- Supporting BMC government, utilities or regulators in contract negotiations.
- Providing supervision and monitoring of performance of projects.
- Providing various capacity-strengthening and technical advisory roles to BMCs, utilities and CDB.
- Supporting CDB’s investment project appraisal process; including conducting risk assessment of projects.
For further details of the background to this requirement and the anticipated scope of works please see the attached file TOR and Application Form
Successful candidates will be registered on the S-BESSCAR for an initial period of two (2) years, with the possibility of a further one- (1) year extension and may be subject to further revalidation. Entry into the roster does not provide a guarantee of any work, with assignments dependent on the needs of the Bank and its BMCs. Also, in some cases, further selection process, based on the procurement rules and regulations for the assignment in question, may be required.
CDB shall conclude framework agreements, with agreed daily fee rates, with candidates deemed to have the necessary qualifications and experience and these consultants shall form part of the S-BESSCAR. CDB will compare and select consultants from the S-BESSCAR for specific assignments and “call down” services under their framework agreements. CDB reserves the right to consider the use of individual consultants outside of the S-BESSCAR, as necessary, and to share details of consultants on the S-BESSCAR with CDB client agencies who are seeking to contract individual regulatory consultants in their own right under CDB- financed projects.
Eligibility
CDB now invites interested eligible individual consultants to submit the attached Application Form (provided in Appendix 1 of S-BESSCAR: Terms of Reference and Application Form), a CV and any relevant associated information indicating qualifications and experience required to provide the anticipated consultancy services.
Consultants shall be eligible to participate if:
- the persons are citizens or bona fide residents of an eligible country; and
- in all cases, the consultant has no arrangement and undertakes not to make any arrangements, whereby any substantial part of the net profits or other tangible benefits of the contract will accrue or be paid to a person not a citizen or bona fide resident of an eligible country.
Eligible countries are any country. However, in order to comply with CDB’s integrity requirements, consultants shall not:
- be subject to sanctions invoked by the United Nations (UN) Security Council under Chapter VII of the Charter of the UN;
- have engaged in Prohibited Practices, as detailed in Paragraph 2.02 a) of the Procedures for Dealing with Fraud and Corruption in CDB-Financed Projects2/ (October 2014 or as updated from time to time)[1]
- be suspended or debarred by CDB for engaging in the Prohibited Practices referenced in (2) (b) above;
- be publicly debarred by an MDB subject to the Agreement on Mutual Enforcement of Debarment Decisions[2] in their own right, or under abovementioned agreement; or
- be subject to a conflict of interest that would undermine the consultant's ability to provide professional, objective, and impartial advice.
CDB requires that all parties involved in the procurement process avoid and declare promptly and proactively in writing to CDB any potential, apparent or actual conflicts of interest. Without limitation on the generality of the foregoing, the Consultant shall not be hired under the following circumstances:
- Conflict between consulting activities and procurement of goods, works or non-consulting services; and
- Conflict among consulting assignments, and/or close relationships with CDB staff or other stakeholders involved in or expected to be involved in the procurement or subsequent contract management.
[1]https://www.caribank.org/sites/default/files/publication-resources/Procedures_FraudandCorruptioninCDB-financedProjects.pdf
[2] http://lnadbg4.adb.org/oai001p.nsf/
Instructions
In the assessment of submissions, consideration will be given to qualifications and experience on similar assignments, specifically those detailed in the attached S-BESSCAR: Terms of Reference and Application Form document. All information must be submitted in English. Further information may be obtained from the first address below between 09:00 and 12:00 hours, Monday to Friday.
Expressions of Interest must be submitted electronically by email to: seu@caribank.org and copied to procurement@caribank.org in pdf format no later than 23:00 hours Barbados time on Friday August 25, 2023. The email subject line should state “Expression of Interest – SOLAR-PV AND BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM CONSULTANCY AND ADVISORY ROSTER – Individual Consultant” and the email body must state the name and address of the applicant. The Expression of Interest will be deemed to have been received at the time that it is received by CDB. The burden of proving receipt of the e-mail will be on the applicant and will not be met solely by a read receipt or sent items report generated by the bidder’s computer.
Following the assessment of submissions, the most technically capable and appropriately experienced applicant will be added to the roster and informed accordingly. CDB reserves the right to accept or reject late applications or to cancel the present invitation partially or in its entirety. It will not be bound to assign any reason for not engaging the services of any applicant and will not defray any costs incurred by any applicant in the preparation and submission of Expressions of Interest.
Contact
Address 1
Caribbean Development Bank
P.O. Box 408
Wildey, St. Michael
Barbados, W.I. BB11000
Address 2
Caribbean Development Bank
