Tenders

Invitation to Tender: Community Energy Support

Cheshire and Warrington is home to a substantial and thriving range of community energy organisations. The current pipeline of projects in feasibility and development totals 40MWp, with a portfolio including interesting and varied schemes covering solar, hydroelectricity, energy storage, and more. Many of these groups have been supported over the last two years by the Community Energy Fund, managed by the North West Net Zero Hub on behalf of DESNZ, which funded feasibility studies and supported viable projects on their journey from ideation to delivery.

In February this year. DESNZ published their local power plan, highlighting their commitment to delivery 8GW of new local power projects by 2030, and Great British Energy have launched their new community fund – inviting expressions of interest from the community and looking to support rapid deployment via a range of developing finance options.  At this critical juncture, ECW, in coordination with the North West Net Zero Hub, is seeking to appoint an organisation to work with the community energy sector across Cheshire and Warrington – supporting the growth and successful delivery of those projects in receipt of Community Energy Fund grant, enabling new groups to progress from ideation to delivery, and driving a more collaborative and integrated sector with increased peer-to-peer learning and knowledge transfer. This commission will support local groups during this key transitional moment, helping groups to access the funding required to progress, and supporting them to navigate any barriers encountered as projects enter the planning and construction phases. Supporting our groups during this transition will ensure that Cheshire and Warrington groups are well positioned to make the most of these exciting opportunities.

This procurement exercise is being conducted as a below threshold open tender. The tender documents comprise this ITT document and appendices and annexes. This ITT sets out the information which is required in order to assess the suitability of bidders in terms of their technical modelling approach and solutions, stakeholder engagement and relationship management, quality assurance processes, and value for money to meet the requirements of ECW.

ECW encourages bids from community organisations, charities, anchor organisations, and specialist advisory consultants. Consortium bids are encouraged where these provide best value-for-money. The successful bidder(s) will be required to deliver services in accordance with all tender documents and the contract to be placed with the successful bidder. Tenderers are requested to study the specification in detail and ensure that the specified requirements can be met and thus your understanding of our requirements is reflected in your Pricing Schedule return.

The contract is expected to commence the week beginning  1^st June 2026, with the exact dates to be agreed depending on the agreement between the successful provider and ECW.

ECW wish to secure efficiencies and economies of scale by means of a procurement exercise for meeting the requirements detailed within this documentation. The principle benefits anticipated by ECW in this procurement include;

• Ability to maximise opportunities for best value and efficient services
• To allow bidders to explore efficiencies, which may be possible by suggesting innovative and cost-effective solutions
• Presentation of cost savings to ECW in order to maximise economical operational efficiency and value for money
• A resultant contract that meets the tender requirements and supports ECW with their ambition

Closing Date & Submission

The closing date and time for the receipt of submissions and all requested documentation relating to this stage is 17:00 hours on 27th May 2026. Late submissions will not be accepted.

Submissions will only be accepted if they are returned via email to tenders@cheshireandwarrington.com Bidders should not send their completed submissions to/copy in any other email address.

Tenderers are advised that it is compulsory to complete and return all of the following documents in the format provided as per the instructions of this ITT. All questions must be answered, where a question does not apply please state “Not applicable”.  Failure to complete the documents in full and/or provide all documentation will result in a non-compliant tender submission and will mean that your tender is not considered.

1. Form of Tender Declaration (Appendix 1)
2. Pricing Schedule (Appendix 2)
3. Supplier Technical Questions & Answer Sheet (Appendix 3)

Tender Queries

If you have any specific questions concerning this document or the process for submission of your proposal, then please email through to: tenders@cheshireandwarrington.com no later than 2026. Only questions submitted to this email address will be answered.  Queries received after this date will not be accepted and will not be responded to.

It would be most helpful if queries could be submitted in one email rather than piecemeal. If any question or request for clarification is considered to be of material significance, both the question and the response may be issued for review by all potential providers in a suitably anonymous form. All communication received from potential providers will be treated in strict confidence but are subject to this paragraph.

Proposed Schedule of Events 

The proposed schedule for the procurement process is as follows. However, the dates indicated, except for the return date should be regarded as indicative at this stage as ECW reserves the right to extend and / or amend the timetable as necessary. Any major changes will be communicated to all potential tenderers.