Chapelcross Solar Farm

Concepts

• solar energy
• warrington
• site solar farm development
• chapelcross energy project limited
• chapelcross solar farm
• chapelcross
• the former chapelcross nuclear power station
• the jockstown farm solar farm
• jockstown farm
• the jockstown fam solar farm

Location

United Kingdom: Chapelcross

Description

The contracting authority, Nuclear Restoration Services Limited (“NRS”) will be entering into a 40-year lease and power purchase agreement (with an option to terminate the arrangement at 25 years) with a special purpose vehicle named Chapelcross Energy Project Limited (“CEPL”) relating to land at NRS’ site at the former Chapelcross nuclear power station which has been defueled and is being decommissioned. NRS is contracting with CEPL as nominated and wholly owned by Green Energy International Limited (“GEIL”) on the basis of Regulation 32 of the Public Contracts Regulation 2015.

Total Quantity or Scope

The contracting authority, Nuclear Restoration Services Limited (“NRS”) will be entering into a 40-year lease and power purchase agreement (with an option to terminate the arrangement at 25 years) with a special purpose vehicle named Chapelcross Energy Project Limited (“CEPL”) relating to land at NRS’ site at the former Chapelcross nuclear power station which has been defueled and is being decommissioned (the “Site”). CEPL is wholly owned by Green Energy International Limited (“GEIL”) and intends to develop the Jockstown Fam solar farm which is adjacent to the Site. In 2019 NRS began exploring options for a solar farm development at the Site. Following various technical and commercial studies which considered grid connection availability, NRS identified that the only commercially and technically feasible option which could guarantee the necessary grid connection was by contracting with CEPL. This is because GEIL currently holds the grid connection, which will be novated across to CEPL in order for CEPL to develop the Site. The technical and commercial reports revealed no reasonable alternative options. As such on 29.11.21 NRS commenced formal negotiations with GEIL as the ultimate owner of CEPL pursuant to Regulation 32 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. Such negotiations have continued throughout the intervening period and NRS now intends to contract with CEPL by way of a lease and related power purchase agreement. Both agreements are necessary to achieve NRS’s requirements, and it is not possible to sever these agreements for this reason. The purpose of the lease is to enable CEPL to construct a – 10MW solar energy farm on the Chapelcross site, in parallel with the Jockstown Farm solar farm, and under the power purchase agreement NRS will agree to purchase an amount of electricity from that on site solar farm development which will be used to power the Chapelcross site, and any surplus will be netted off other NES sites demand via an electricity sleeving arrangement with EDF (NOTE the EDF arrangement is a separately procured arrangement (through a CCS framework) which is not the subject of this VEAT).NRS will not enter into the contract until a period of at least 10 calendar days has passed following publication of the notice.

Award Detail

Award Criteria

CPV Codes

• 09330000 - Solar energy

Legal Justification

NRS is awarding the lease and power purchase agreement to CEPL in accordance with the provisions of regulation 32 of the Public Contract Regulations 2015. NRS concluded, based on the outcome of a technical report on grid availability (commissioned 2022 and published March 2023) and commercial advice, that the requirements of Regulation 32(2)(b)(ii) had been satisfied for the following technical reasons: (1) The adjacency of the Jockstown Farm solar farm to the Site which is necessary so as to make the development of a solar farm on the Site a viable proposition. A commercial assessment has demonstrated that the development of a 10MW solar farm on the Site would be unviable/uneconomical and, as such, the development by NRS of the Site in isolation would not be a reasonable alternative. GEIL’s [ownership/leasehold interest] in the Site and its novation of the grid connection to CEPL means that NRS is dependent on CEPL developing the Jockstown Farm solar form and therefore CEPL is in an exclusive position.(2) GEIL has a connection offer from Scottish Power Energy Networks and the absence of alternative grid capacity/connection prior to 2028 meant that an alternative solar farm could not be developed by an alternative developer in/around the Site. Jockstown Farm creates the opportunity as the land that GEIL obtained access to has a lower generation capacity than the headroom in the connection agreement. Whilst NRS was aware that there were other developers in the area seeking connections post 2028, they did not consider this to offer a reasonable alternative due to the delay which it would cause to the project (with resulting economic and carbon savin loss). NRS therefore reasonably concluded that Regulation 32(2)(b)(ii) had been satisfied and commenced formal negotiations with GEIL [as ultimate owner of CEPL], in respect of contracting with CEPL on this basis.

Other Information

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