Consultancy Service for the Engineering, Procurement and Legal professional services for the procurement of the Botswana Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) project

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

(CONSULTANCY SERVICES – FIRMS SELECTION)

Assignment Title: Consultancy Service for the Engineering, Procurement and Legal professional services for the procurement of the Botswana Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) project

Reference No.: BW-MME-388165-CS-QCBS BW-MME-388165-CS-QCBS

• Background The Government of Botswana (GoB) is committed to increase its share of renewable energy. Botswana’s Vision 2036 sets a goal to reach a share of 50 percent of renewable energy (RE) in its power mix by 2036. BPC is planning to operationalize the IRP by launching the country’s first competitively held tenders for Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). BPC contemplates to commission the first 50MW BESS by mid-2025. The Government of Botswana has received financing from the World Bank to support its efforts to operationalise the IRP. Part of this grant will support transaction advisors for procurement of RE Independent Power Producer (IPP) projects and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) EPC projects.

The present assignment aims to hire a consortium/firm of consultants (the Consultant) to support BPC and the GoB in structuring and tendering bankable BESS projects under an Engineering, Procurement and Construct (EPC) contracting strategy. In preparation for the procurement, BPC is in the process of the feasibility and site studies as well as environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) for the selected site(s). The mandate for consultancy professional services would assist BPC in preparing in parallel the procurement packages needed for it to successfully launch the procurement of 2X25 MW BESS projects (the Projects).

• Scope of Work

The Consultancy procurement support services covers four main outputs:

a. Technical consultancy services: support BPC to (i) define the technical criteria of the Request for Qualification (RfQ), (ii) draft the Minimum Technical Specifications and testing conditions of the Request for Proposal (RfP) based on the conclusions of the Feasibility Study, (iii) evaluate technical proposals, (iv) provide technical inputs to Project Documents, (v) support the negotiations with the Preferred Bidders on the technical side, (vi) propose the inclusion of socio-economic and gender benefits as evaluation criteria in the procurement process, and (vii) more generally address technical questions/comments up to financial close of the Projects. During construction of the project, BPC is looking for a Consulting Engineer (CE) to act on behalf of BPC to ensure that the Project is designed, constructed, commissioned, and handed over in accordance with all applicable requirements, regulations, as well as industry best practices. The CE is also expected to provide post-construction operational monitoring services to ensure optimal performance of the facility, guaranteeing it operates in accordance with our expectations.

b. Legal consultancy services: support the Client to (i) draft the RfP and Projects’ Agreements, (ii) evaluate compliance of proposals submitted by Bidders (including bidders’ legal status as applicable), (iii) provide legal inputs throughout the bidding process, (iv) provide legal inputs to Project Documents and legal review of all documents, (v) support the negotiations with the Preferred Bidders on the legal side, and (v) more generally address legal questions/comments up to financial close of the Projects;

c. Procurement consultancy services: support BPC to (i) lead and coordinate the bidding process as a whole, (ii) compile the PPSD (as defined below) as per World bank regulations, (iii) advise on procurement matters, (iv) lead and run the bidding procurement process; (iv) evaluate the bids from a financial/global perspective, (v) support the negotiations with the Preferred Bidders on the financial/global technical side, and (v) more generally address financial/cross-cutting questions/comments up to financial close of the Projects.

d. Capacity building: knowledge and expertise transfer to BPC on the development of the Projects. This fourth output area will be transversal to the three areas listed above, with the objective to increase the capacity within BPC to launch bankable and sustainable tenders on BESS.

PEDU invites eligible consulting firms (‘’Consultants’’) to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the Services. The shortlisting criteria are:

a. Core Business: minimum 5 years' experience in providing the Engineering, Procurement and Legal professional services for Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) projects

b. Demonstrate experience of having satisfactorily completed procurement of at least one (1) BESS project with a minimum installed capacity of 100 MWh

c. Demonstrate experience of having selected a BESS EPC through a tender including:

i) Preparation of the tender for technical documentation,

ii)Evaluation of bids and selection of the preferred bidder,

iii)Negotiations of the contractual documentation and,

iv)Experience drafting agreements (Power Purchase Agreement, Implementation Agreement, Grid Connection Agreement, etc.) for at least two (2) BESS tenders.

d)Demonstrate experience of having selected a BESS EPC through a tender including:

i) Advisor to Governments for renewable energy projects

ii)Transaction advisor for selection of an EPC

e) The consultant shall be illegible to work with International Financial Institutions.

f) The consultant shall not be conflicted.

The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to paragraph 3.14 to 3.17 of the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers dated July 2016, revised in November 2017, August 2018, November 2020 and September 2023 setting forth the World Bank’s Policy on Conflict of Interest.

Consultants may associate with other firms to enhance their qualifications. Where firms are associating, the submission must include verifiable evidence of association from all the parties.

A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the QCBS method set out in the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers dated July 2016, revised in November 2017, August 2018, November 2020 and September 2023. Interested Consultants may obtain further information in writing at the address below during office hours i.e. 07:30 – 16:30 hrs.

Expressions of Interest, clearly labelled ‘’Expression of Interest – Consultancy Service to Engineering, Procurement and Legal Professional Services for the Procurement of the Botswana Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) Project’’ must be hand delivered in a written form to the address below by 10 November 2023 at 12:00hrs local time.

Attention: The Permanent Secretary

Ministry of Minerals and Energy

3rd Floor, Office DT 10 Energy Security Plot 50656,

Fairground Office Park

Gaborone

Country: Republic of Botswana

Telephone: (+267) 3640260/200

Facsimile number: (+267) 3909368

Electronic mail address: [email protected]