Project timescale and detail
Our Energy from Waste project is a long-term, thermal treatment solution to treat household waste left over after waste minimisation, recycling and composting and reuse. We are working with our district partners and a commercial partner to implement modern incineration technology to reduce our current reliance on landfill reduce the cost of related taxes and fines and produce low carbon energy.
Contract procurement
The procurement project began in 2005, when we asked independent financial, legal and technical specialists to advise us to ensure we achieve the best value, long-term solution for the county. We also asked residents for their views on the development of our Joint Waste Strategy.
In 2007, Cabinet agreed to proceed with the project and we advertised for contractors to submit proposals to build and operate a thermal treatment plant. We followed a Competitive Dialogue approach with bidders and in January 2008, we announced the three companies chosen to go to the next stage in the process. In August 2008 we selected two of these companies to proceed to final tender stage. In September 2009, Cabinet decided to award Covanta Preferred Bidder status for the contract. In March 2010, the Cabinet Member for Planning & Environment took the decision to withdraw this preferred bidder status and re-open the final stages of the competition following the emergence of a legal issue with Covanta's site during Covanta's due diligence work.
Between March and September 2011,, the Council was in discussions with both Covanta Energy and Waste Recycling Group (WRG). In September 2010 the two companies submitted their final tenders, which were evaluated by our technical, legal and financial experts and the project team against a range of pre-agreed criteria.
In November 2010, Cabinet decided to award WRG as the company who will proceed to build and operate the EfW facility at their proposed plant at Greatmoor, near Calvert, subject to planning consent.
The table below shows the weighted criteria used by the Council to evaluate the bids:
| Tier 1 Criteria | Tier 1 Weighting | Tier 2 Number | Tier 2 Criteria | Tier 2 Weighting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A - Technical and Operational | 10% | A1 | Availability - The ability of the solution to process the contract waste (Note - Buckinghamshire's municipal waste is a priority over all other waste streams) in the event of plant maintenance down-time, peaks in waste supply and break-down (to cover standby arrangements) | 23% |
| A2 | Feedstock flexibility - The ability of the solution to effectively manage variation in waste composition (including materials within the municipal l waste stream that may have other classifications see A2e) and tonnages | 21% | ||
| A3 | Contribution to recycling, recovery, energy and emissions targets | 35% | ||
| A4 | Service quality to include evidence of a track record as well as proposed plans on subjects including: quality assurance, health and safety, staffing, resourcing, data management, reporting etc. | 21% | ||
| B - Deliverability and Planning | 25% | B1 | Deliverability | 50% |
| B2 | Planning and permitting | 50% | ||
| C - Environmental & Social* | 10% | C1 | Levels of process residues generated by the solution | 10% |
| C2 | Energy balance of the solution (considering inputs and outputs for the solution | 15% | ||
| C3 | Green house gases emissions (GHG), other gaseous, particulate emissions and carbon footprint (assessment to be made using the WRATE tool developed by the Environment Agency) | 25% | ||
| C4 | Transportation impact of the solution | 25% | ||
| C5 | Jobs created due to the development of the solution | 10% | ||
| C6 | Stakeholder engagement, experience and track record as well as proposals for the development of the solution | 15% | ||
| D - Financial & Commercial | 40% | D1 | Affordability of the cost of the service provision. (The Council reserves the right not to award the contract solely on the fact that any Final Tender is unaffordable) | 20% |
| D2 | Economic cost of the proposal to the Council | 60% | ||
| D3 | Robustness of commercial structure and financial viability | 20% | ||
| E - Legal | 15% | E1 | Delivery vehicle is a lawful and robust structure with appropriate Board consents and vires - Consortium members are suitably committed | 20% |
| E2 | No state aid or other legal impediments arise | 5% | ||
| E3 | Project Agreement and other contract documents represent a commercially acceptable position and reflect a sharing of risk that represents value for money and is reasonable for the Council to accept | 50% | ||
| E4 | Suitable warranties and other security offered | 15% | ||
| E5 | Facility(ies) transfers to Council on expiry or termination or other proposals for continued service provision in the event of failure | 10% |
The Preferred Bidder had been selected using the procurement guidance set out by the EU Procurement Directive. Competitive Dialogue is the formal, recognised route used for this type of complex public/private partnership. The facility is due to be operational, subject to planning and permitting in 2014. The detailed timescale is shown below:
Procurement stage | Date |
|---|---|
OJEU Contract Notice | 1 March 2007 |
Deadline for reviewing completed pre-qualification questionnaires | 12 (noon) 2 April 2007 |
Notification for shortlist | 15 May 2007 |
Invitation to Participate in Dialogue (ITPD) and Invitation to Submit Outline Proposals (ISOP) issued | 16 May 2007 |
Bidders conference | 23 May 2007 |
Deadline for receipt of Outline Proposals | 12 (noon) 3 September 2007 |
Invitation to Submit Detailed Solutions (ISDS) issued | 7 December 2007 |
Deadline for receipt of Detailed Solutions | 2 June 2008 |
Invitation to Submit Final Tenders (ISFT) issued | w/c 15 December 2008 |
Deadline for receipt of Final Tenders | 12 January 2009 |
| Cabinet decision - award preferred bidder status to Covanta Energy | 14 September 2009 |
| Cabinet Member decision | 10 March 2010 |
| Cabinet Member decision implemented* | 16 March 2010 |
| Invitation to submit further final tenders (ISFT2) issued | 20 August 2010 |
| Deadline for receipt of Final Tenders | 14 September 2010 |
Cabinet decision - award preferred bidder status to WRG (subject to call-in period)* | 29 November 2010 |
| Overview and Scrutiny Call In Cabinet decision | 11 January 2011 |
| Cabinet make a decision based on O&S recommendation | 28 February 2011 |
| Work with WRG to finalise contractual and financial documents | Summer 2011 – Winter 2012 |
*Subject to a call-in period, which is a County Council process involving the Overview and Scrutiny Commissioning Committee who can choose to call in the decision for review for up to 3 days after a decision has been made.
Note: the Cabinet decision taken on the 29th November 2010 and reaffirmed in February 2011 was to award preferred bidder status to WRG. Contract award is subject to a further cabinet decision expected in early 2012 and will be subject to the Alcatel standstill period in accordance with the EU procurement rules.
Contract technology requirements
- To provide a long-term thermal treatment solution using an Energy from Waste modern technology
- If applicable, to include haulage from transfer station(s) to the treatment plant(s) to the final disposal point
- To maximise energy recovery and consider the potential to produce electricity and/or heat
- To refer to key consultation and strategy documents (such as the Waste Framework Directive) to encourage innovative bids
Summary of Final Tender received by WRG
| Parameter | WRG |
|---|---|
| Treatment facility location | Greatmoor, Calvert, Buckinghamshire |
| Treatment facility capacity | 37.5 tonnes per hour 292,500 tonnes per annum |
| Waste input assumptions | Contract waste: 109ktpa (y1) rising on forecast Other waste: 183.5 ktpa |
| Technology and configuration | Single line moving grate EfW |
| Waste transfer station infrastructure (design capacity) | High Heavens: 150,000 tpa Amersham 120,000 tpa |
| Energy output (net) | 24.8 MW at full capacity |
| R1 – Recovery exceeding 65% per WFD*) | Yes |
| Contract service period | 30 years |
| Financing method | Construction finance/Prudential borrowing |
*The Waste Framework Directive (WFD) sets out that certain specified waste shall cease to be waste when it has undergone a recovery operation. If facilities permitted after 31.12.2008 that are dedicated to the processing of municipal solid waste have an efficiency of 0.65 then this is classed as a recovery operation and therefore pushes the waste further up the waste hierarchy.
Current arrangements
Our current waste management initiatives and Waste Strategy can be found using the links below.
For more information call 0845 3708090 or email waste_strategy@buckscc.gov.uk
Related pages
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