Project South Westminster Area Network (SWAN)

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) wishes to establish a Contract for services to commercialise a low carbon heat network within Westminster and then coordinate its delivery should the commercialisation be successful. The South Westminster Area Network (SWAN) is a heat network opportunity within Westminster that has been developed so far as part of the Department's wider Advanced Zoning Programme. It estimates annual heat demand in excess of 400GWh/y when fully built out. The Department is looking to select a Development Partner with the skills and resources necessary to commercialise a low carbon heat network within Westminster and then deliver it should the commercialisation be successful. The Department and its consultants have engaged with a number of stakeholders across Westminster and have had positive feedback on the proposal to develop a large-scale low carbon heat network in the area. Westminster City Council and the Westminster Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) are supportive of the project and will engage directly with the Development Partner when selected. The successful Development Partner will be paid by the Department a fee to commercialise SWAN. The cost to the Department of these commercialisation services will be part of the bid process but would be limited to a maximum of £1m and would be governed by a Development Agreement between the Department and the successful bidder over the commercialisation period. An application has been made to the Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF) for an additional £1m of commercialisation grant and £40m of construction period grant. A decision on whether this has been successful or not is expected to have been made during the procurement period (currently expected to be April-July).
We are planning a procurement approach whereby bidders, as a minimum, will set out their commercialisation approach, team, relevant experience and commitments that the bidder makes with regards project outcomes. Bidders will need to demonstrate that they have the sufficient financial resources, or access to funding, sufficient to meet the investment required for project SWAN: estimated to be in excess of £400m of capital investment. The procurement approach is subject to change and will in part be influenced by responses to the questionnaire that accompanies this notice. See below in Section II.2.4) Description of the procurement