SERVICE
PROCUREMENT NOTICE
Paving the way for the
Mediterranean Solar Plan (MSP)
Location - All ENPI-South countries,
1. Publication reference
EuropeAid/129020/C/SER/MULTI
2. Procedure
Restricted
3. Programme
ENPI
4. Financing
Budget line: BGUE-B2010-19.080101
5. Contracting Authority
European Union,
represented by the European Commission on behalf of and for the account of
the beneficiary countries
CONTRACT SPECIFICATION
6. Nature of contract
Fee-based
7. Contract description
The purpose of the project is that the conditions favourable to the increased use of renewable energy in general and solar energy in particular are improved, across all the Southern Mediterranean Partner Countries. The focus is on renewable energy, combined with energy efficiency and savings.
The Service Contract will aim to achieve results that include, inter
alia, progress in the establishment of a harmonised legislative and regulatory
framework, strengthened institutional capacity, improvement in knowledge
transfer and capacity building in renewable energy technologies, and an
improved business climate. Attention shall also be paid to tackling issues
related to the guarantees of origin.
The project shall support and coordinate activities among various
stakeholders, targeting e.g. Ministries in charge of energy, finance, social
affairs; industry; the research community; and International Financing
Institutions. Activities should enhance synergies with ongoing EU- and other
donor-funded cooperation, as well as reinforce existing energy agencies and
their networks, collaborate with the MEDREG Association of Euro-Mediterranean
energy Regulators, as well as coordinate with the European Industrial
Initiative “Solar Europe” of the EU Strategic Energy Technologies (SET) Plan
and ongoing initiatives under the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).
8. Number and titles of lots
Not applicable
9. Maximum budget
EUR
5,000,000.00 (five million)
10. Scope for additional services
The Contracting Authority may, at its
own discretion, extend the project in duration and/or scope subject to the
availability of funding, up to a maximum not exceeding the length and value of
the initial contract. Any extension of the contract would be subject to
satisfactory performance by the Contractor. In particular, subject to prior
approval from the competent services of the Commission, the Contracting
Authority may make use of the negotiated procedure to extend the project in
duration and/or scope, according to the rules in force.
CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION
11. Eligibility
Participation is open to all legal persons participating
either individually or in a grouping (consortium) of candidates which are
established in a Member State of the European Union or in a country or
territory of the regions covered and/or authorised by the specific instruments
applicable to the programme under which the contract is financed (see also item
30 below). Participation is also open to international organisations. The participation
of natural persons is governed by the specific instruments applicable to the
programme under which the contract is financed.
12. Candidature
All eligible natural and legal persons (as per item 11
above) or groupings of such persons (consortia) may apply.
A consortium may be a permanent, legally-established
grouping or a grouping which has been constituted informally for a specific
tender procedure. All members of a consortium (i.e. the leader and all other members)
are jointly and severally liable to the Contracting Authority.
The participation of an ineligible natural or legal
person (as per item 11) will result in the automatic exclusion of that person. In
particular, if that ineligible person belongs to a consortium, the whole
consortium will be excluded.
13. Number of applications
No more than one application can be submitted by a
natural or legal person whatever the form of participation (as an individual
legal entity or as leader or member of a consortium submitting an application).
In the event that a natural or legal person submits more than one application,
all applications in which that person has participated will be excluded.
14. Shortlist alliances prohibited
Any tenders received from tenderers comprising firms
other than those mentioned in the short-listed application forms will be
excluded from this restricted tender procedure. Short-listed candidates may not
form alliances or subcontract to each other for the contract in question.
15. Grounds for exclusion
As part of the application form, candidates must
submit a signed declaration, included in the standard application form, to the
effect that they are not in any of the exclusion situations listed in Section
2.3.3 of the Practical Guide
to contract procedures for EC external actions
16. Sub-contracting
Sub-contracting is allowed. The
maximum percentage of the contract value which may be sub-contracted is 30%.
17. Number of candidates to be short-listed
On the basis of the
applications received, between 4 and 8 candidates will be invited to submit
detailed tenders for this contract. If the number of eligible candidates
meeting the selection criteria is less than the minimum of 4, the Contracting
Authority may invite the candidates who satisfy the criteria to submit a tender.
PROVISIONAL TIMETABLE
18. Provisional date of invitation to tender
30/04/2010
19. Provisional commencement date of the contract
01/09/2010
20. Initial period of implementation of tasks and
possible extension of the contract
The initial period of implementation
will be 36 months. Extension is possible up to a maximum of 36 months.
SELECTION AND AWARD CRITERIA
21. Selection criteria
The following selection criteria will be applied to
candidates. In the case of applications submitted by a consortium, these
selection criteria will be applied to the consortium as a whole, and in such
cases the word "candidate" below refers to the consortium as a whole,
unless when otherwise stated. Particular criteria are in such cases applied to
the leading firm of the consortium, as follows:
1) Economic and financial capacity of the candidate (based on item 3
of the application form)
the average annual turnover of the candidate must have
exceeded 1,700,000 EUR for the last three completed accounting years. In
addition, in case of applications submitted by a consortium, the annual
turnover of the leading firm must have exceeded 850,000 EUR for the last three
completed accounting years.
2) Professional capacity of the candidate (based on items 4 and 5 of
the application form)
The candidate should have at least 15 (fifteen)
permanent staff currently working for the applicant in the relevant field covered by the project (renewable energy and/or
energy efficiency and/or energy savings and/or energy regulation).
3) Technical capacity of candidate (based on
items 5 and 6 of the application form)
the candidate has carried out
successfully in the last 5 years (from 2005 onwards) at least 4 (four) projects of
which at least 1 (one) international project in the energy sector (renewable
energy and/or energy efficiency and/or energy savings and/or energy regulation)
with a minimum budget of 500,000 EUR. The candidate's participation in
these projects must be significant (i.e. of a proportion of at least 50%).
In case of applications
submitted by a consortium, the leading firm must have carried out successfully at
least 2 of the projects presented as reference for this criterion.
The implementation
of these projects should have begun at the latest on 1st September
2009 and for contracts started before 2005, at least half of their implementation period must have
taken place after 01/04/2005;
An economic operator may, where appropriate and for a
particular contract, rely on the capacities of other entities, regardless of
the legal nature of the links which it has with them. It must in that case
prove to the Contracting Authority that it will have at its disposal the
resources necessary for performance of the contract, for example by producing
an undertaking on the part of those entities to place those resources at its
disposal. Under the same conditions, a consortium of economic operators may
rely on the capacities of members of the consortium or of other entities.
If more than 8 eligible candidates meet the above
selection criteria, the
relative strengths and weaknesses of the applications of these candidates must
be reexamined to identify the eight best applications for the tender procedure.
The factors which will be taken into consideration during this re-examination are
the following:
- the number of projects carried out by the
candidate, in the field of renewable
energy, in the ENPI or EU countries;
-In case of equality, the total value of
the part implemented by the candidates in the projects of the additional
criterion.
In their references, candidates are requested to
specify the exact start and end dates
(at least month and year) of project activities.
22. Award criteria
Best value for money.
APPLICATION
23. Deadline for
receipt of applications
16:00
Central European Time (
Any
application received after this deadline will not be considered.
24. Application format and details to be provided
Applications
must be submitted using the standard application form
(available from the following Internet address: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/work/procedures/implementation/services/index_en.htm
), whose format and instructions must be strictly observed.
Any additional documentation
(brochure, letter, etc) sent with an application will not be taken into
consideration.
25. How applications may be submitted
Applications must be submitted
in English exclusively to the Contracting Authority:
·
EITHER by recorded delivery
(official postal service) to :
European Commission
EuropeAid Co-operation Office
Finance, Contracts and Audit
Unit EuropeAid A/5
EuropeAid/129020/C/SER/MULTI
J54 01/230
B – 1049
·
OR hand delivered
(including courier services) directly
to the Contracting Authority in return for a signed and dated receipt to:
European Commission
EuropeAid Co-operation Office
Finance, Contracts and Audit
Unit EuropeAid A/5
EuropeAid/129020/C/SER/MULTI
J54 01/230
Avenue Du
Bourget, 3
B – 1140
Tel.: +32.2.295.58.83
N.B.: This department is open from
The Contract title and the Publication reference (see item 1
above) must be clearly marked on the envelope containing the application and
must always be mentioned in all subsequent correspondence with the Contracting
Authority.
Applications
submitted by any other means will not be considered.
26. Alteration or withdrawal of applications
Candidates may alter or
withdraw their applications by written notification prior to the deadline for
submission of applications. No application may be altered after this deadline.
Any such notification of
alteration or withdrawal shall be prepared and submitted in accordance with Item
25. The outer envelope (and the relevant inner envelope if used) must be marked
'Alteration' or 'Withdrawal' as appropriate.
27. Operational language
All written
communications for this tender procedure and contract must be in English.
28. Additional information
None
29. Date of publication of contract forecast
28/08/2009
30. Legal basis
Regulation
(EC) No 1638/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October
2006 laying down general provisions establishing a European Neighbourhood and
Partnership Instrument (ENPI).