Official UK procurement notice
Operation and Maintenance Services for the Ness Energy from Waste Facility
Authority: Aberdeen City Council (Local council)·Consortium: 3 public authorities
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionAberdeen City Council, Aberdeenshire Council and Moray Council (together hereinafter referred to as the "Partner Councils") are seeking to procure Operation and Maintenance Services for the Ness EfW Facility for up to 25 years.
- Recurrence: Further operation and maintenance of the facility may be tendered towards the end of the anticipated 20-25 year period of this Contract.
CPV: Engineering services · Engineering works and construction works · Heating-plant repair and maintenance work · Operation of a power plant · Operation of a refuse site · Operation of electrical installations · Refuse and waste related services · Refuse incineration services · Repair and maintenance of plant · Repair and maintenance services · Repair and maintenance services of boilers · Repair and maintenance services of electrical and mechanical building installations · +3 more
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1The Ness EfW Facility is a single line moving grate waste combustion plant with an…RenewalPublished value£477,616,363
The Ness EfW Facility is a single line moving grate waste combustion plant with an operational capacity of 150,000 tonnes of waste per year, with a waste CV of 9.3 MJ/kg, equating to a thermal capacity of 49.1 MW(th) per hour. The facility is permitted to accept source segregated municipal solid waste and commercial and industrial waste of a similar nature. The Facility has a gross power generation capacity of 14 MW(e). The Facility operates in Combined Heat and Power (CHP) mode, exporting approx. 12 MW(e) net.
The O&M Services required to be provided under this Contract include:
- The receipt of all Contract Waste delivered by or on behalf of the Lead Authority and the Partner Councils, up to 150,000 tpa;
- The treatment of the Contract Waste to comply with the Scottish landfill diversion legislation;
- Recovery and export of up to 14 MW(e) gross and 10 MW(th);
- The management, operation and planned, reactive and preventative maintenance activities as required to ensure reliable operation of the Facility to achieve the treatment and energy export requirements stated above;
- The management, storage, marketing and transportation of all byproducts/recyclates, rejects and process residues from the treatment processes;
- Compliance with the Planning Permission and Environmental Authorisation;
- The provision of contingency arrangements if the Facility is not available to fulfil any aspect of the O&M Services;
- The handback of the Facility at the end of the Contract Period including all required documentation and training with a residual life of a minimum of 5 years. Additional information: The value at II.1.5 is an estimate and may vary dependent on factors such as the exact term, waste arisings and indexation.
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
- Economic & financial standing
Full details can be found in the SPD Instructions document which can be accessed at the website referenced in section I.3 of this notice.
Minimum: SPD Question 4B.1.2: Bidders will be required to have an average yearly turnover of a minimum of 50 million GBP for the last 3 years. The average turnover stated shall be based upon the figures reported in the last 3 year’s audited financial statements. The average shall be a wei… - Technical & professional ability
Where the Bidder relies on the technical experience of a Consortium Member or Reliance Entity to meet the Selection Criteria and/or Down Selection Criteria requirements, the experience relied on must be consistent with the Consortium Member's or Reliance Entity's role under this Contract.
Minimum: SPD Question 4C.1.2: The Bidder must provide details of two (2) plants which demonstrate their experience operating and maintaining EfW facilities in the UK and/or EU and/or EEA/EFTA which: 1. use proven moving grate technology; 2. process MSW or MSW derived fuels such as refuse …
- Staff
- Names and qualifications of delivery staff must be submitted
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record · publisher note attached- Procedure method
- Competitive procedure with negotiation
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Closed
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
Yes · Further operation and maintenance of the facility may be tendered towards the end of the anticipated 20-25 year period of this Contract.
- First published
- 22 Apr 2026, 08:44 BST
- Last source update
- 14 Jul 2026, 14:44 BST
- Authority reference
CRN000444308- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-066263- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-068802Find a Tender
- Electronic trading
- electronic payment
- Performance terms
If Submissions are received from Consortia, the Partner Councils reserve the right to require every Consortium Member to enter into the Contract on a joint and several basis. Where a Consortium Member is relying on another entity for the purpose of financial standing, parent company guarantees or other form of security (acceptable to the Partner Councils acting reasonably) will be required to guarantee that Consortium Members’ liabilities under the Contract.
The Partner Councils reserve the right to disqualify any consortium which changes its composition after pre-qualification without the Partner Councils prior consent.
Publisher note: The Partner Councils reserve the right to reject or disqualify a Bidder where the Bidder or any Bidder is an economic operator excluded under Regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 at any stage of the selection process. Any change in Consortium Members or Reliance Entities after SPD response deadline must have prior agreement of the Partner Councils. Appendix C of the SPD Instructions provides guidance on the sections of the SPD requiring completion by each Consortium Member and Reliance Entity. When answering Question 2.A.3 in the SPD Bidders should detail their Company Number or alternative EU Registration Number (if applicable). The Contract will not be divided into lots due to its complexity. A Competitive Procedure with Negotiation is being used because of the complexity, the legal and financial makeup of the Facility and the risks which are attached to these; and the technical specifications of the contract cannot be established with reference to a standard common technical specification. Bidders must self-certify adherence to selection and exclusion criteria via the SPD. Relevant evidence and certificates, which support the declarations made in the SPD, shall be provided by the Bidder at ITT stage. When completing the SPD, Bidders must have regard for the specific selection requirements detailed in Section III of this Notice. Following assessment of SPD Submissions we intend to invite 3 Bidders to submit a tender. The buyer is using PCS-Tender to conduct this PQQ exercise. The Project code is 31998. For more information see: http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/info/InfoCentre.aspx?ID=2343 A sub-contract clause has been included in this contract. For more information see: http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/info/InfoCentre.aspx?ID=2363 Community benefits are included in this requirement. For more information see: https://www.gov.scot/policies/public-sector-procurement/community-benefits-in-procurement/ A summary of the expected community benefits has been provided as follows: A number of Community Benefits will be derived from this procurement in accordance with the requirements set out in the procurement documents, including the recruitment of apprentices, provision of work placements, site visits, lectures and workshops. In addition, the Contractor shall be committed to supporting equality and seeking living wage employer accreditation. (SC Ref:835521)
How it was run
Official noticeTender documents are also served through a separate tool: http://www.publictendersscotland.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk ↗
- Submission deadline
- 17 Aug 2026, 14:00 BST
- Submission channel
- {"electronicSubmission"}
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
22 May 2026 → 31 Jul 2028 · 5 dates- Next notice expected159 days ago22 May 2026, 00:00 BST
- Notice published106 days ago14 Jul 2026, 14:44 BST
- Submission deadline72 days ago17 Aug 2026, 14:00 BST
- Invitations to tender expected35 days ago23 Sept 2026, 00:00 BST
- Today28 Oct 2026
- Bids must remain valid until31 Jul 2028, 23:59 BST
Notice history
5 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 10 Jul 2026- Published value updated to £477,616,36310 Jul 2026, 16:21 BSTwas £350,000,000
- Status changed to active10 Jul 2026, 16:21 BST
- Procurement method changed10 Jul 2026, 16:21 BST
- Deadline published: 11 Aug 2026, 14:00 BST10 Jul 2026, 16:21 BST
- Deadline moved to 17 Aug 2026, 14:00 BST14 Jul 2026, 14:44 BST+6 days · was 11 Aug 2026, 14:00 BST
Published amendments (1 · 1 deadline change)
| When | What | Before | After | Shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | DeadlineTime limit · IV.2.2 | 11 Aug 2026 | 17 Aug 2026 | +6 d |
| — | DateEstimated date of dispatch of invitations · IV.2.3 | 23 Sept 2026 | 23 Sept 2026 | +0 d |
| — | Bid validityMinimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender · IV.2.6 | 31 Jul 2028 | 31 Jul 2028 | +0 d |
Due to an issue affecting the retrieval of information within PCS and PCS-T, the SPD was unable to be published until 14/07/2026. Consequently, an extension to the response period has been implemented to accommodate the delay.
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
3 public bodies on the noticeConsortium members and other public bodies
- Aberdeenshire CouncilContracting authority
- Moray CouncilContracting authority
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- Aberdeen Sheriff CourtReview body
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.