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Heat network techno-economic feasibility study for Culham

Descriptions

Culham has been designated as the first AI Growth Zone by the UK Government. As part of this, a 100MW data centre is being developed on Culham Campus, with aspirations for up to 500MW of data centres in the longer term. There may also be a further data centre proposed for the adjacent No. 1 site which is allocated for employment use. There is an opportunity to recycle waste heat from large computer systems storing internal data to supply heating for the local community, supplying heat to multiple buildings from a central source. The National Zoning Model does not yet identify this area as a potential heat network zone as the waste heat sources do not yet exist. The timescales for completion of the data centre are uncertain and subject to planning permission, however it is likely to be within the next five years, with an ambitious completion date suggested to be April 2028. Therefore, the council urgently needs to better understand how to capture the opportunities for low carbon heat networks arising from these developments. The South Oxfordshire Local Plan 2035 (adopted December 2020) has allocated: • land adjacent to Culham Campus for construction of 3,500 new homes - this development is a potential end user of the heat network. • A net increase of at least 7.3 hectares of employment land at/adjacent to Culham Campus - this may be a heat supplier or end user depending on the types of commercial development which come forward. A Local Development Order is being developed for the site. A previous heat mapping and energy masterplanning study for Culham was developed in 2017. This proposed three different potential heat network technologies for the site: • gas engine CHP with supplementary backup gas boilers; • centralised biomass boilers with supplementary backup gas boilers; • water source heat pump in River Thames with supplementary backup gas boilers. While the modelling and information in this study remains useful as background information, there have since been significant technological advances and changes to planned development for the site which means that this work would need to be revisited and updated as part of the techno-economic feasibility study. At this stage, the council has not committed to taking forward beyond the techno-economic feasibility study stage. Restrictions associated with local government reorganisation (LGR) will limit this council's ability to progress this project beyond the feasibility stage. However, the feasibility study will put the project in the best possible position for a third party or the successor authority, once established, to decide to progress the scheme. Furthermore, the planning applications for data centres and other nearby development are highly likely to be submitted before LGR is complete in 2028. Therefore, information is needed now so that South Oxfordshire District Council can consider whether planning powers could be utilised to require developments to be designed and constructed to supply or connect to a future heat network, including through the forthcoming Culham Local Development Order. The Council is seeking a single supplier to provide these consultancy services.

Timeline

Pblished Date :

4th Sep 2025 in a 2 days

Published Date :

17th Nov 2025 Yesterday

Deadline :

5th Jan 2026 in a 1 month

Contract Start :

2nd Mar 2026

Contract End :

30th Jun 2026

Tender Regions

Keywords

environmental impact consulting

ecological engineering advisory

sustainability engineering

waste management consultancy

water treatment engineering

pollution control consulting

environmental systems design

ecological risk assessment

green infrastructure consulting

environmental planning engineering

energy efficiency consulting

building efficiency audits

energy-saving advice

efficiency retrofit consulting

HVAC optimization

green building consultancy

energy efficiency planning

lifecycle energy analysis

efficiency strategy advisory

retrofit energy guidance

heating system engineering

boiler design services

HVAC heating solutions

central heating design

building heating consultancy

steam system engineering

heating plant design

thermal system design

boiler installation planning

heating infrastructure engineering

Tender Lot Details

2 Tender Lots

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Workflows

Status :

Open

Procedure :

N/A

Suitable for SME :

Yes

Nationwide :

No

Assign to :

Tender Progress :

0%

Details

Notice Type :

Tender

Tender Identifier :

IT-378-246-T: 2024 - 001

Tenderbase ID :

310724019

Low Value :

£100K

High Value :

£1000K

Buyer Information

Address :

Liverpool Merseyside , Merseyside , L13 0BQ

Website :

N/A

Procurement contact

Name :

Tina Smith

Phone :

0151 252 3243

Email :

tina.smith@shared-ed.ac.uk

Possible Competitors

1 Possible Competitors