Guideline for Procurement of Solar Energy
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Guideline for Procurement of solar energy EFFECT4buildings Toolbox: Prosumerism; Annex 3 1 The project “Effective Financing Tools for implementing Energy Efficiency in Buildings” (EFFECT4buildings) develops in collaboration with public building managers a comprehensive decision-making support toolbox with a set of financial instruments: Financial calculation tools; Bundling; Funding; Convincing decision makers; Energy Performance Contract; Multi Service Contract; Green Lease Contract; Prosumerism. The tools and instruments chosen by the project has the biggest potential to help building managers to overcome financial barriers, based on nearly 40 interviews with the target group. The project improves these tools through different real cases. To make sure building managers invest in the best available solutions, more knowledge on different possibil ities is needed as well as confirmation from colleagues that the solutions performs well. EFFECT4buildings mapped technological solutions for energy efficiency in buildings with the aim to share knowledge and experiences of energy efficiency solutions among building managers in the Baltic Sea Region. This document is made as manual for procurement of PV and it includes technical description guidelines. Partners EFFECT4buildings project is implemented with the support from the EU funding Programme Interreg Baltic Sea Region (European Regional Development Fund) and Norwegian national funding. The aim of the project is to improve the capacity of public building managers in the Baltic Sea Region by providing them a comprehensive 2 decision-making support toolbox with a set of financial instruments to unlock the investments and lower the risks of implementing energy efficiency measures in buildings owned by public stakeholders. More information: http://www.effect4buildings.se/ EFECT4building project develop a toolbox with a set of financial instruments for building managers to implement more energy efficiency measures. Tools belong to one or more of the following categories: Financial calculation, Bundling, Funding, Convincing decision makers, EPC, Multi service contracts, Green Leasing contracts and Prosumerism. This case is part of Prosumerism. Case owner: PP1, Dalarna County Board, Sweden Background and motives: Building owners interest in investing in solar energy is increasing. When investing for the first time, new knowledge is needed to make a successful installation. The situation still prevails that the solar energy market is not yet mature, with many installers not enough qualified to deliver a high-quality plant. These risks lead to system deficiencies and poor performance of PV plant. At the same time, there is not sufficient regulations in place from the different authorities. It means that: • regulations might be missing; • regulations might be hard to find or understand; • regulations might vary between municipalities, depending on different local regulations; • local regulations might not be coordinated with other local regulations; • situations may arise where the contractor and supplier of solar energy interpret rules differently. If you don’t have the right knowledge, it can be hard to procure a successful PV plant. Purchasers seek support for how to formulate the request to solar energy installations companies. To develop guidance and a document with proposed texts for a tendering is of good help for building owners wanting to invest in solar energy. Method: Based on experience from best practice cases in Ludvika municipality, Dalarna, Sweden, this guide and tendering document has been developed. Ludvika municipality is investing approximately 3 million Euro in solar energy for public buildings, based on political decision. From the initial installations valuable experiences has been gained. They have developed a tendering document, which can now be used as a starting point for general recommendations and advantageously by others. Results: The result is a guide for purchasing PV systems, consisting of some overall recommendations and a detailed text document proposal for procurement of PV systems. 3 1. GUIDE FOR PROCUREMENT OF PV Who to involve: • Important is to bring the grid owner in the planning from the start. They have their own rules for how the installations are to be made and after all, they are the ones who must approve the distribution of excess electricity. • The Fire department demand clear signs that it is a connected power installation. Standardized rules are beginning to emerge, but so far, local rules have to be followed in many respects, and responsible parties might not have enough knowledge and routines either. • Important is to have contracts with certified installers, and that they have staff with whom it is easy to have a dialogue. • Important is to hire a skilled inspector for final inspection of the PV-plant to check if the plant meets all requirements. Pre-study: Before investing in solar energy, a pre study needs to be made of what the conditions look like in terms of technology, economy, risk and security, which is advantageously investigated in a feasibility study. The Solar Energy Calculation Tool, developed by the EFFECT4buildings project, can be used in this phase. A feasibility study should include: • decisions on technical issues regarding the type of PV system, size and location; • orientation of the building, available areas and potential annual production; • electricity needs and adjustment of the size of the plant based on it. The system requested can: • be roof-integrated or traditional solar panels mounted on top of an existing roof; • be thin film or silicon; • be mono- or polycrystalline. Investment decision An investment needs to be presented to decision makers at one or more levels. Decision- makers rarely have expertise in the field and the material presented should therefore be designed in an educational way - for example, all parts of the feasibility study should be woven together into a decision basis that is easy for managers and policy to understand and assess. Factors that can be used as arguments for investments in solar energy: • A contribution to a sustainable energy system; 4 Solar energy is fossil free and renewable. • Proven technology Solar cells are based on well-proven technology with at least 25 years warranty from the majority of all manufacturers. Solar power can be integrated into the building's electrical system where consumption is also done, with small transmission losses as a result. • Low risk The prices for electricity have fluctuated a lot. Investment in a PV plant is an insurance against the price fluctuations over the next 25 years. • To be a role model Producing own electricity gives a sense of freedom, independence and pride. Formal procurement documents (for a total responsibility from the supplier) A request for tender contains information about the project, technical requirements for the PV plant, criteria for the one submitting the tender, references to laws, agreements and regulations and the division of responsibilities between the client and the contractor. The requirements set in a procurement must be designed in a way that makes it possible to follow up and verify that the suppliers meet them. 1 Technical description (with a pre study as an annex) A detailed text document for technical description in a request for proposal of PV systems has been developed. 2 Template for tendering proposal Supplier should confirm that the products offered meet the technical requirements described in the technical description. The template must contain all the information that the tenderer must provide. • Price offer (divided in to price for solar panels, inverters, mounting equipment, working hours, eventual costs for data collection and presentation, eventual extra costs for snow sliding fences) • LCC analysis • Technical data of products o Product sheets with enough information to make it possible to evaluate performance, reliability, personal safety, maintenance and space requirements. o Efficiency of solar panels and inverters o Number of solar panels and inverters 5 o Expected energy production o Performance Ratio o Warranties o Planned method for mounting • Time plan for installation 6 EFFECT4buildings Technical description for procurement of photovoltaics systems September 2019 7 Basics for procurement of Photovoltaic systems About the document This document is a basis for procurement of photovoltaic systems for producing your own electricity. It is based on contract documentations used in later procurement of solar energy by Ludvika Municipality. And which have been supplemented with new experiences. Parts of the technical description may need to be adapted to the specific procurement. This document is adapted primarily for the procurement of traditional PV-modules. For roof integrated solutions, certain parts of this document need to be reformulated. The administrative regulations are not included. Content 1 GENERAL SCOPE 9 2 QUALITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL 10 3 ELECTRICAL INSTALLATIONS 11 4 EQUIPMENT FOR ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION 13 5 MARKING, TESTING, DOCUMENTATION 17 6 AFTER FINAL INSPECTION 22 8 1. GENERAL SCOPE 1.1 PURPOSE Overall description of which type of systems and buildings the procurement refers to. The delivery includes installation of photovoltaic systems according to this description, to a fully functioning and operational plant, in a turnkey contract. The delivery also includes monitoring and being responsible for ensuring that wiring and components have the correct function and