Greenhags Solar Farm - Prior Information Notice

Tender description

East Renfrewshire Council is issuing this Prior Information Notice as a means of market engagement. The Council is not committing to a future procurement, contract award, concession, land lease, power purchase agreement or other commercial arrangement through publication of this notice. Any future opportunity, if progressed, will be subject to the Council’s governance, legal, financial and procurement requirements. East Renfrewshire Council wishes to engage with the market to explore potential delivery, funding, development and energy offtake models for a renewable energy opportunity at Greenhags Waste Transfer Station and Household Waste Recycling Centre, which includes Council- owned land associated with a former landfill site. The Council is particularly interested in understanding market appetite for solar photovoltaic development and associated arrangements that could reduce carbon emissions, support local renewable energy generation, and potentially deliver financial, community wealth-building and wider sustainability benefits. Lot 1: The Greenhags site has previously been considered for large-scale solar generation. The Council commissioned a site appraisal in 2025 to review grid feasibility, site feasibility and high-level cost/revenue considerations. The appraisal indicates that renewable energy development at Greenhags may be technically possible, but that there are significant matters to test further, including electricity grid connection costs and timescales, former landfill/ground conditions, planning and environmental considerations, land constraints, whole lifecycle costs, access and operational interaction with the existing waste facility. The Council now wishes to engage with suitably experienced organisations to understand whether there is market interest in developing the opportunity and what commercial structures may be viable. The Council is open to considering a range of potential models, subject to future approval and due diligence. These may include, but are not limited to: - developer-led or fully funded solar PV development on Council land; - land lease or concession-style arrangements; - Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) models, including private wire, sleeving, corporate PPA or other utility/offtaker structures where lawful and viable; - joint venture, partnering or other risk-sharing arrangements; - integration with Battery Energy Storage Systems or other enabling infrastructure where this strengthens viability; - options involving neighbouring landowners, data centres, or wider local energy opportunities; and - phased or future-proofed development approaches that reflect grid capacity constraints. The purpose of this notice is to gather information and market feedback before the Council decides whether, and how, to proceed. In particular, the Council wishes to understand market appetite; likely delivery/funding structures; minimum information required by the market; the extent to which a PPA or other offtake commitment could support third-party investment; risk allocation; likely due diligence requirements; and what further work the Council should undertake to reduce risk before any formal procurement. Interested suppliers can request a copy of the feasibility study that was carried out by Blake Clough Consulting. This study includes an overview of: Network capacity and local development implications; review of Embedded Capacity Register/TEC Register/TWR/TORI; Summary of gird connection options; Initial environmental and planning assessment; Proposals for development; High level grid-connection costs; High-level solar development costs; and High-level revenue models. The Council purchased electricity via the National Framework Agreement for the Supply of Electricity, which is currently provided under contract by EDF Energy. In 2024/25, the Council purchased 17,009 MWh of electricity. The Council is not obliged to purchase electricity via this framework and is open to proposals that would require the purchase of power from the developed site (e.g. PPA), where this is economically advantageous to the Council. It should be noted that the Council does not intend to commit any capital or revenue budget to this opportunity. Instead, the Council is seeking to make land available as a potential investment opportunity for suitably experienced suppliers or partners to develop, fund, operate and manage proposals at their own cost and risk, subject to any future approvals, agreements and procurement requirements. Interested suppliers are asked to register interest with debbie.hill@eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk A copy of the above study and a Request for Information document is provided as attachments to this notice. Responses should be concise and should not include confidential information unless clearly marked as such. Responses will be used only to inform the Council’s understanding of market appetite and potential options.. Interested suppliers are asked to register interest with debbie.hill@eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk