Crawley Borough Council - District Heating Scheme - Soft Market Testing Exercise

Background

Crawley Borough Council (CBC) currently operates a small gas-fired Combined Heat and Power (CHP) district heating network in the town centre (Phase One), serving both office and residential buildings. Building on previous feasibility work, CBC now seeks to expand and decarbonise this network through a proposed Phase Two.

Purpose

CBC is undertaking a Heat Networks Delivery Unit (HNDU) funded mini-development exercise to refine and de-risk this potential Phase Two project. As part of this process, CBC will explore various technical, commercial, and economic options for delivering an expanded, low-carbon heat network, with particular attention to potential delivery structures and regulatory impacts.

Soft Market Testing

To help shape and inform the next steps, CBC is conducting a Soft Market Testing (SMT) exercise. Through this SMT, we will seek feedback from potential partners and suppliers on:

• The technical approaches under consideration
• Economic and commercial delivery models
• The size of the opportunity
• How well do these align with current market preferences
• The level of interest in the project in its current form
• What modifications could make it more attractive or viable to the market

How to Participate

Interested parties are invited to express an interest in participating in this market feedback exercise, which will primarily be conducted through a questionnaire; however, CBC may conduct brief, targeted follow-up discussions at its discretion if certain points warrant further exploration.

Timescales

• Suppliers to express an interest in the Questionnaire from today.
• Questionnaire to be finalised and ready for sharing from 10th March 2025
• Closing date for Questionnaires to be completed and returned 11th April 2025

Important Information

• This notice is not a call for competition; participation in any soft market testing will neither be required nor mandatory in order to take part in any subsequent procurement exercise.
• CBC can neither confirm nor deny that there will be a procurement exercise in the future; the purpose of the soft market testing is to determine the route forward for this project, including if the route forward includes a procurement requirement.