Public procurement notice: Qualification System With Call For Competition
Published: 2024-06-27
Region: IE052
Contract type: Services
CPV classification: 09330000: Solar energy | 31321200 | 31321300 | 42961200 | 71311000: Civil engineering consultancy services
Award criteria: price, quality

Technical requirements: The Contracting Entity has an ongoing need to enter into electrical works contracts relating to utility scale onshore solar energy projects in the Republic of Ireland. The Contracting Entity wishes to establish a qualification system with a pool of qualified parties (i.e. the Qualified Applicants) that  can be invited to specific Competitions under the Qualification System in relation to the procurement and execution of such electrical works.
The electrical works are expected to be required within the functional areas set out below. The below description is non-exhaustive and may not include all electrical works that will actually be required for a Contract; the Contracting Entity reserves the discretion to generally procure electrical works under this Qualification System. A more detailed description of the electrical works will be included in the Competition Materials in respect of a Contract.
The scope of works under a Contract may include (without limitation) the civil and electrical design, construction, commissioning and testing of solar farm substation contestable works, associated low voltage (LV) / medium voltage (MV) / high voltage (HV) cabling, and the grid connection route to connect the Project to the transmission or distribution network in accordance with the connection 
agreement for the Project and to the satisfaction of the Contracting Entity and the Distribution System Operator or Transmission System Operator. The scope may also include the design, supply, delivery, installation, commissioning, and testing of all electrical and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) equipment for the substation which may or may not include the grid transformer. Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works in connection with the solar farm which will connect to the Project substation will be carried out by another party under a separate EPC works contract outside the scope of this Qualification System.
The contracting entity has also sent a notice for publication via www.etenders.gov.ie as the procurement procedure will run through that portal. As it was not possible to include all necessary information in that notice, the contracting entity publishes an additional notice via enotices2 to include all relevant information. In case of discrepancies between what has been listed in this notice and the notice that will be published via www.etenders.gov.ie the text in this notice prevails. 
Please consult the associated documentation, which contains full instructions regarding the submission of tenders and is https://ted.europa.eu/TED available to download from www.etenders.gov.ie using eTenders Resource ID – 3818841
(1) Interested parties must associate their organisation with this competition on the eTenders web site (www.etenders.gov.ie) in order to be included on the mailing list for clarifications and to upload tender responses. To do this you must do the following: Log-in to the eTenders portal; Locate the competition using the Advanced Search by searching under the Contracting Authority or Resource ID. Click on the hyperlink for the competition which will bring you to the CfT Workspace. In the Show CfT Menu for the competition click on the “Expression of Interest in the drop-down menu. Complete the Association with the CfT tab. This will then provide you with a link to Tender under the Show CfT Menu where you can prepare your submission. 
(2) When finalising your submission please upload your final response as a zip file as individual documents will lose their titles if uploaded individually. Also ensure that you receive a message under the status header called Submitted, as the percentage tab does not imply you have successfully submitted your response. 
(3) There is a maximum upload limit of 250mb per file / 500mb per submission. 
(4) Suppliers should note the following when making their submission suppliers must ensure that they give themselves sufficient time to upload & submit all required documentation before the submission deadline. Suppliers should consider the fact that upload speeds vary and that the new eTenders system operates in a different manner to the previous platform operated by EU-Supply. The submit button will be disable automatically upon the expiration of the response deadline. 
(5) If you experience difficulty when uploading documents, please contact the eTenders Support Desk for technical assistance. Email irish-eproc-helpdesk@eurodym.com or Telephone: +353(0)818 001459 (09:00 – 17:00 hours). 
(6) Applications submitted by any other means (including but not limited to email or post or hand delivery) will not be accepted. 
(7) All information relating to attachments, including clarifications and changes, will be published on the Irish Government Procurement Opportunities Portal (www.etenders.gov.ie) only. Registration is free of charge. The contracting entity will not accept responsibility for information relayed (or not relayed) via third parties. 
(8) All queries regarding this process must be submitted through the Irish Government Procurement Opportunities Portal www.etenders.gov.ie as a specific question. Responses will be circulated to those tenderers that have registered an interest in this notice on www.etenders.gov.ie. The details of the person making a query will not be disclosed when circulating the response 
(9) The contracting authority will not be responsible for any costs, charges or expenses incurred by candidates or tenderers. Contract award will be subject to the approval of the competent authorities. 
(10) Without prejudice to the principle of equal treatment, the contracting authority is not obliged to engage in a clarification process in respect of the procurement documents with missing or incomplete information. Therefore, respondents are advised to ensure that they return completed documentation in order to avoid the risk of elimination from the competition. 
(11) Where applicable, please note in relation to all documents, that where reference is made to a particular standard, make, source, process, trademark, type, or patent, that this is not to be regarded as a de facto requirement. In all such cases it should be understood that such indications are to be treated strictly and solely for reference purposes only, to which the words "or equivalent" will always be appended.
In case of discrepancies between what has been listed here and in the Call for Applications, the text in the Call for Applications applies.
In order to be admitted to the Qualification System, the Applicant must fulfil the following minimum requirement regarding experience:
(a) It is a minimum requirement that the Applicant must provide details of two (2) completed onshore solar reference projects, each with a minimum size of 10MWp, where the electrical works undertaken by the Applicant included works that were similar in nature, scope and complexity to the works described in the description of the contract. 
The Applicant is requested to provide details of reference projects demonstrating the Applicant’s experience of having undertaken works that were similar in nature, scope and complexity to the works described in the description of the contract. For each reference project, the following information is requested in section 3 of the Response Template: 
(a) Project name
(b) Project location and country
(c) Project period (commencement and completion date)
(d) Name of client (or if confidential, this should be stated)
(e) Size (in MWp) and overall scope of project
(f) Confirmation that the project is a completed onshore solar project
(g) Description of the nature, scope and complexity of the works undertaken by the Applicant on
the project
(h) Confirmation that the works undertaken by the Applicant included works that were similar in 
nature, scope and complexity to the works described in the description of the contract
A maximum of two (2) reference projects can be submitted per Applicant. If more reference projects are submitted, only the most recent reference projects up to the maximum number of reference projects will be considered. The most recent reference projects will be determined based on the commencement date of the project.
If any framework agreements are submitted as part of an Applicant’s reference projects, Applicants are requested to submit the information outlined above for the most recent or most significant call-off contract(s) entered into by the Applicant under such framework agreements. References only to the award of a framework agreement without reference to any call-off contract thereunder will be disregarded on the basis that no reference project for the relevant EPC works has been provided.
The Applicant is requested to keep the description of each reference project below 2,200 characters including spacing. In the event that the above limit is exceeded, Applicants are advised that only the first 2,200 characters appearing sequentially will be evaluated and any further details will be disregarded for the purpose of this evaluation. 
The Applicant should submit the relevant information in relation its chosen reference projects at section 3 of the Response Template
The Contracting Entity reserves the right to contact the Applicant or relevant third parties for verification of the information stated in the description(s) of the reference project.
The Contracting Entity will assess whether the Applicant fulfils the minimum requirement set out above based on the information submitted in accordance with the description above.
In case of discrepancies between what has been listed here and in the Call for Applications, the text in the Call for Applications applies.
The Applicant is requested to submit its latest two signed and approved annual reports together 
with the Response Template. To the extent that the figures outlined below are contained within the 
annual report, the Applicant is requested to specify the location(s) of these details within the annual 
report in section 4 of the Response Template. To the extent that the annual reports do not explicitly 
state the following 12 figures, the Applicant is requested to state these figures in section 4 of the 
Response Template.
1. Turnover (revenue)
2. Earnings before tax (EBT)
3. Current assets
4. Total assets (sum of all assets)
5. Total shareholder’s equity (equity including minority shares)
6. Current liabilities
7. Intangible assets
8. Inventories
9. Trade receivables
10. Cash and cash equivalents
11. Trade payables
12. Total interest-bearing debt (bank loans, draw on revolving credit facilities and corporate 
bonds etc.)
See full description in section 4.1 in the Call for Applications.
In relation to any particular Competition, the Contracting Entity reserves the right to set and apply 
a minimum requirement regarding economic and financial capacity and invite all Qualified Applicants who comply with the minimum requirement to tender in such Competition by reference to the details provided in accordance with the description above. The assessment of compliance with such a minimum requirement will be based on the information submitted by Qualified Applicants in accordance with the description above. If no information is submitted, the Qualified Applicant will be considered non-compliant for a Competition where such a minimum requirement is applied and shall not be invited to participate in such a Competition.
Price is not the only award criterion and all criteria are stated only in the procurement documents.