Trinidad and Tobago
Several contractors are getting ready to challenge the intention by the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) to award a huge housing contract in East Trinidad to a Chinese contractor.
HDC yesterday issued a notice of a decision to award a contract to China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd to build houses at the Corporation’s Santa Rosa Housing Development.
The contract, which is to design and build houses on the site, is for $475.83 million.
China Harbour was not the lowest bidder for the contract. According to a notice attached to the announcement several local contracting firms submitted bids for the project, but were not successful.
Junior Sammy Construction submitted a bid for $419.22 million, Mootilal Ramhit & Sons Contracting submitted a bid for $344.15 million and NH International (Caribbean) put in a bid of $259.61 million.
The HDC announcement states that there is a standstill period from July 31 to August 14, 2024.
“Consequently, in accordance with section 35 of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act, as amended, the HDC is initiating a standstill period of ten working days,” said the HDC notice.
Section 35 of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act states: “35. (2) A procuring entity shall promptly notify each supplier or contractor who presented submissions of its decision to accept the successful submission at the end of the standstill period.
(3) The notice referred to in subsection (2) shall contain, at a minimum, the following information:
(a) the name and address of the supplier or contractor presenting the successful submission;
(b) the contract price; and
(c) the duration of the standstill period as set out in the solicitation documents.”
The standstill period gives bidders the ability to launch challenge proceedings against the intention by state companies to award contracts.
One contractor, who is on the list of bidders, said: “While we have not made a final decision, this award is likely to be challenged by us and the project stopped while the Office of Procurement Regulator does its review.”
“This intent does not constitute an offer or a binding contract between the HDC and China Harbour Engineering Company T&T. In the event that the HDC or China Harbour Engineering are unable to successfully reach agreement at the close of negotiations, the HDC will conclude the procurement process with with China Harbour Engineering and continue the same with the next eligible proponent,” the HDC said
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Barbados
The Barbados Ministry of Energy and Business is currently hosting a three-day Procurement Design Workshop with key stakeholders including RELP – Renewables for All, the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, the Inter-American Development Bank, Deloitte, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and the International Finance Corporation. The workshop being held at the Warrens Office Complex represents the final stage of the collaborative efforts by a consortium of storage systems experts. These experts have been assisting Barbados since early 2024 to tackle the gridlock issue and promote the transition to renewable energy.
One of the main outcomes is the announcement that Barbados will soon launch procurement process to acquire Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) which are vitally needed to support the grid and allow the many stalled solar photo voltaic (PV) systems to proceed. The electric grid is currently at capacity with Barbados Light and Power unable to connect new PV systems to the grid without additional storage.
Speaking at the opening of the workshop, Senator Lisa Cummins, Minister of Energy and Business said: “This has been an absolutely urgent priority for our Government, and the partners have spent a lot of time collaborating with my amazing team because they understand how critical this is….
“The discussions over the next few days will take us into closure on the process where we can get battery energy storage systems into the country. In many ways this is a watershed moment that many have been waiting for.”
Since the beginning of this year, a consortium of experts has been supporting Barbados in its advancement with renewable energy, and the resulting pressures and demands on the electrical grid. Minister Cummins praised the work being done by the various partners which has included a grid characterisation study, with the findings presented last week:
“What they have shared with us and will share with the market over the coming days in market sounding sessions will take us a far way towards completing the design for a cost effective and price competitive battery energy storage system for Barbados. We hope to launch the first BESS procurement shortly, based on the timelines that we have seen coming into the development plan.”
She noted that local agencies have also played an active role, including the Fair Trading Commission, the Barbados Central Bank, Government Procurement, GEED, the Bankers’ Association and other relevant associations.
The workshop and meetings will conclude on 30th July with local industry stakeholders invited to a market sounding session. Once the procurement of the BESS systems is concluded, new residential and commercial PV projects will once again be able to connect to the grid.
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Barbados
Barbados is a step closer to launching its first procurement project for Battery Energy Storage Systems to support the grid and unlock stalled Solar PhotoVoltaic (PV) connections that will allow solar energy to be fed into the national electrical grid.
The Ministry of Energy and Business is currently hosting a three-day Procurement Design Workshop with key stakeholders to discuss and make critical decisions with regard to procuring Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS).
What is a BESS?
Energy can be stored in batteries for when it is needed later.
The battery energy storage system (BESS) is an advanced technological solution that allows energy storage in multiple ways for later use. Given the possibility that an energy supply can experience fluctuations due to weather, blackouts, or perhaps in times of warfare, battery systems are vital for utilities, businesses and homes to achieve a continual power flow.
Barbados has reached the maximum capacity of the electric grid and the Barbados Light and Power Company has been advising that it is unable to connect homeowners and residential PV systems to the grid without the addition of storage.
The workshop is the culmination of the outputs of a consortium of experts in storage systems, who began supporting Barbados at the beginning of 2024 to address the gridlock challenge and advance the renewable energy transition.
In brief opening remarks at the Warrens Office Complex, on Friday, Minister of Energy and Business, Senator Lisa Cummins, said: “This has been an absolutely urgent priority for our Government, and the partners have spent a lot of time collaborating with my amazing team because they understand how critical this is….
“The discussions over the next few days will take us into closure on the process where we can get battery energy storage systems into the country. In many ways this is a watershed moment that many have been waiting for.”
Senator Cummins noted that the partners, including RELP, Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, the Inter-American Development Bank, Deloitte, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and the International Finance Corporation, had completed what she described as “incredible work”, including a grid characterisation study, which was presented earlier in the week.
“What they have shared with us and will share with the market over the coming days in market sounding sessions will take us a far way towards completing the design for a cost effective and price competitive battery energy storage system for Barbados. We hope to launch the first BESS procurement shortly, based on the timelines that we have seen coming into the development plan.”
Senator Cummins went on to point out that not only had there been close collaboration among partners, but all the local agencies had been actively involved, including the Fair Trading Commission, as well as officials from the Central Bank, Government Procurement, GEED, the Bankers’ Association and relevant associations.
The meeting continues on July 29 and 30, and will culminate in a market sounding session with local industry stakeholders. Once this project is completed, Barbadians awaiting connections to the grid can be connected and new projects can begin to move forward.
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Jamaica
The Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce (MIIC), through the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC), successfully concluded a four-part island wide Public Procurement Readiness Project Workshop series, aimed at building the capacity of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to successfully bid for public sector contracts.
The workshops facilitated by the Office of Public Procurement Policy (OPPP) within the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service (MoFPS) saw, in total, a turnout of 130 MSMEs.
The first workshop held in Kingston on March 27-28, 2023, had 43 MSMEs in attendance; the second in Mandeville, Manchester on May 28-29, 2024, with 20; the third workshop in St James on June 11-12, 2024, with 19; and the final workshop, held at the JBDC Incubator and Resource Centre in Kingston on July 11-12, 2024, had 48 MSMEs joining the initiative.
“As Jamaica’s Business Ministry, the Ministry for MSMEs, it was important for us [MIIC] to drive this initiative and empower our MSMEs with the knowledge and tools needed to thrive in a competitive marketplace,” stated Karen Hylton, Small Business Financing Specialist at MIIC, in her opening statement at the final workshop.
“This workshop not only serves to train MSMEs in how to prepare bid documents but also to break down the Set-Aside Orders and the fundamentals of the public procurement process – what the intricacies are, what it means to MSMEs, the benefits and opportunities available and what the requirements would be to meet the eligibility criteria.”
Chantol Dormer, Manager, Project Management and Research at JBDC echoed similar sentiments by adding that “Our goal was to ensure that not only MSMEs in our clientele but also MSMEs in the general populous have the opportunity to access the information that this training provides.”
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Belize and United States Virgin Islands
The Central American country of Belize is seeking services related to the procurement of a 40MW battery energy storage system (BESS) project.
The Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment is seeking expressions of interest (EOI) from consultants and experts to assist it with the Belize Renewable Integration and Resilient Energy System Project, using World Bank funding.
Interested consultants have until 2pm local time on 8 August—this coming Thursday—to provide information demonstrating their suitability to provide goods, consulting and non-consulting services for the project.
Contact details for the EOI process can be found here.
The Belize Renewable Integration and Resilient Energy System Project is aimed at improving the resilience of the electricity system against extreme climates by strengthening the national transmission infrastructure.
It will fund the acquisition and deployment of BESS to enable the integration of renewable energy onto the grid, and improve resiliency and reliability of electrical supply. A total of US$65 million will be invested in the project, according to the World Bank.
The project’s primary implementing agency is Belize Electricity Limited, the country’s main utility and network operator.
It comes shortly after nearby Honduras progressed the reform of its electricity market to enable the deployment of energy storage at scale on its grid.
In concurrent news, the publicly-owned utility for the US Virgin Islands has announced the completion of a new BESS alongside upgrades to an existing gas power plant, the Randolph Harley Power Plant (RHPP).
The Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority (WAPA) announced the completion last month (24 July) after which it began final commissioning of the generators and BESS equipment.
As Energy-Storage.news reported when the project neared completion last year, system integrator Wärtsilä provided a hybrid solution combining four 9MW fossil fuel engines together with a 9MW, 2-hour duration (18MWh) BESS unit. The company got the contract for the job in 2020, which was delayed due to Covid-19.
The fossil fuel engines totalling 32MW of power run on liquid petroleum gas (LPG) and light fuel oil (LFO).
Finland-headquartered Wärtsilä is active in supplying island power solutions, also providing a 25MW/25MWh BESS on another Carribean island, Curaçao.
Earlier this year, the Comisión Nacional De Energia of the Dominican Republic started construction on a 99MWh BESS in the country.
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