St. Vincent Electricity Services Limited (VINLEC) Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) Project (Re-Issued)

Project Name

Role/Service

Engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) and commissioning of all components required to furnish a 5 MW / 1 hour BESS and associated power conversion system (PCS), BESS Plant Controller, low voltage (LV) to medium voltage (MV) transformer(s), and Balance of System (BOS) components

Country

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Deadline

Feb 28, 2023

10:00 AM

Type

Works

Overview

INVITATION FOR BIDS

St. Vincent Electricity Services Limited (VINLEC) has received financing from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) in an amount equivalent to USD 8,617,700 towards the cost of the St. Vincent Electricity Services Limited Utility Battery Storage Project (the Project) and intends to apply a portion of the proceeds of this financing to eligible payments under this contract. Payment by CDB will be made only at the request of VINLEC and upon approval by CDB, and will be subject, in all respects, to the terms and conditions of the Financing Agreement. The Financing Agreement prohibits withdrawal from the financing account for the purpose of any payment to persons or entities, or for any import of goods, if such payment or import, to the knowledge of CDB, is prohibited by a decision of the United Nations Security Council taken under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations. No party other than VINLEC shall derive any rights from the Financing Agreement or have any claim to the proceeds of the Financing.

The Project is being implemented by VINLEC, and VINLEC has contracted Consultants who will assist with delivering the Project. The Consultants have prepared conceptual designs and contract documentation and will assist in tender administration and evaluation and supervise Project activities.

VINLEC now invites sealed bids from eligible bidders for the St. Vincent Electricity Services Limited Utility Battery Storage Project. The works include, but are not limited to the following:

The engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) and commissioning of all components required to furnish a 5 MW / 1 hour BESS and associated power conversion system (PCS), BESS Plant Controller, low voltage (LV) to medium voltage (MV) transformer(s), and Balance of System (BOS) components. All components shall comply with the technical requirements given in the Technical Specifications of the Bidding Documents, and the contractor scope of work includes:

Containerized BESS solution for outdoor installation at the Cane Hall Power Station
Bi-directional PCS (Inverter)
Controls’ hardware and software, including inverter controls, battery management system (BMS), SCADA and BESS Plant Controller
BESS thermal management system and all associated components
LV:MV transformer(s) and associated components
All BOS components for the BESS
Provision of spare parts as explained in the tender document
Integration of the BMS, BESS Plant Controller, and SCADA systems with the VINLEC SCADA system, and electrical power system protection equipment
Commissioning and testing of all aspects of the Facility
Provision of operational manuals, emergency response plan, and VINLEC operator training
Providing and supporting performance guarantees for the installed BESS
Installation of auxiliary power for BESS HVAC and other quiescent loads required for equipment operation, e.g., for SCADA, BESS Plant Controller, Inverter controller, if needed, and control house.

Eligibility

Firms whether bidding individually or in the form of a Joint Venture, shall:

be legally incorporated or otherwise organised in, and have their principal place of business in an Eligible Country;
be more than fifty (50) percent beneficially-owned by a citizen or citizens and/or a bona fide resident or residents of an Eligible Country, or by a body corporate or bodies meeting these requirements, as far as the ownership can be reasonably determined; and

shall have no arrangement and undertake not to make any arrangement whereby the majority of the financial benefits of the contract, i.e. more than fifty (50) percent of the value of the contract, will accrue or be paid to sub-contractors or sub-consultants that are not from an Eligible Country.

Eligible countries are member countries of CDB, and firms resident or registered in countries eligible for procurement under EU-funded projects which are not CDB Member Countries. Bidders are advised to review the detailed eligibility criteria detailed in Section 4 and conflict of interest provisions in Section 5 of the Procurement Procedures for Projects Financed by CDB (January, 2021), as published on CDB’s website.

Eligible bidders will be required to submit full qualification information with their bids establishing their eligibility to bid and qualification to perform the contract if the bid is accepted. Tender and qualification information are to be submitted in the English Language on the prescribed forms inserted in the Bid Documents. Submissions that do not provide the information required, or do not demonstrate the prospective contractor’s ability to perform satisfactorily, will not qualify and will not be considered for further evaluation.

Qualification requirements include, inter alia:

(a) an average annual turnover (defined as certified payments received for works in progress or completed) within the last three years of at least ten million United States dollars (USD 10 mn);

(b) a demonstrable cash flow (including access to credit) of one million United States dollars (USD 1 mn); and

(c) experience as prime contractor in the construction of at least two (2) assignments of a nature, scope and complexity comparable to the proposed project activity within the last five (5) years (to comply with this requirement, works quoted should be at least 80 percent complete).

Instructions

Bidding Documents may be obtained by eligible bidders from the first set of email addresses below. Requests may be made by written application including email. Written applications must be clearly marked: “Request for Bidding Documents for the St. Vincent Electricity Services Limited Utility Battery Storage Project”, along with the name, address and contact information of the bidder for which Bidding Documents are being requested.

Applicants who request that documents be forwarded to them must submit an account number from a local courier agent that accepts freight collect charges. Documents will be promptly dispatched, but under no circumstance will VINLEC or their authorised agent be held responsible for late delivery or loss of the documents so transmitted.

Submissions via email should have the following subject “Bid for the St. Vincent Electricity Services Limited Utility Battery Storage Project”, and must be received at the second email address below not later than 10:00 am Atlantic Standard time (UTC-4) on 28th February 2023. Virtual bid opening will take place immediately after the deadline for submission at a Zoom link to be provided to qualified bidders only, and in the presence of bidders’ representatives who choose to attend. Qualification information only must be simultaneously submitted to the first address below.

All bids must be accompanied by a Bid-Securing Declaration. Late bids will be rejected.

VINLEC reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, and to annul the process and reject all bids, at any time prior to award of contract, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected prospective bidder(s) or any obligation to inform the affected prospective bidder(s) of the grounds for VINLEC’s action. VINLEC will not defray any costs incurred by any bidder in the preparation of bids.