ESB Pre-Qualifying for Ecological Consultancy Tender

Electricity Supply Board (ESB), Ireland’s state owned electricity company, has issued a pre-qualification call for the provision of renewable energy ecological consultancy services related to offshore wind farms.

ESB plans to develop or acquire the offshore wind farms commencing in 2018, through a pipeline of projects which are currently going through the consenting process.

The size of the projects is expected to range between 200 and 500MW, although some might be larger.

The location of the wind farms is expected to be in the Irish Sea.

The tender is divided into two lots. The high level scope of Lot 1 services includes, but is not limited to, terrestrial and aquatic ecology consultancy services; terrestrial ecology, habit, botanical and invasive species surveys; bird, bat, large mammal and invertebrate surveys, as well as freshwater aquatic ecology surveys.

The high level scope of services for Lot 2 includes marine ecology surveys; intertidal and subtidal surveys; marine benthic flora and fauna surveys; fisheries and shellfish surveys; marine invertebrate sampling and identification; seabird surveys and collision risk assessment; marine mammal survey, monitoring and collision risk assessment; marine habitat identification, classification and mapping, as well as marine water quality.

Both Lot 1 and Lot 2 include ecological reporting; Ecological Impact Assessment (EcIA) and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA); Appropriate Assessment (AA) Reports and Habitats Regulation Assessment; ecological management plans; invasive species management plans; consultation with stakeholders; site supervision and ecological and environmental clerk of works; expert witness evidence at oral hearings, as well as other ecology services and advice as required by the ESB Group.

The services are related to offshore wind farms acquired, developed or built during the framework, including joint venture or subsidiary developments.

The duration of the contract is 8 years, and it is not subject to renewal.

The deadline for applications is 12 October 2017.

At the beginning of September, ESB invited a tender for the for the provision of renewable energy marine services related to offshore wind farms.