Rochdale hunts for £4m solar farm contractor
Wanted: a company to design, engineer, and deliver the nearly 27-acre Chamber House Solar Farm in Heywood.
The estimated £3.8m contract would run from 17 October this year to 30 April 2025. During this time, Rochdale Council wants the successful bid winner to operate and maintain the solar farm as well.
While price will be considered in choosing the right contract, the council said it would not be the only deciding factor.
Chamber House Solar Farm is part of the £17.2m Unlocking Clean Energy in Greater Manchester programme, which is led by Energy Systems Catapult. The project has already received £2.2m from the European Regional Development Fund to help bring it forward.
The solar farm would be situated on Green Belt located off Rochdale Road East. It is meant to have a 30-year design life and received planning permission in 2020.
Rochdale Council estimates the farm will generate 4,500 megawatt hours of electricity per year – enough to power 1,250 homes.
The deadline for the procurement exercise is 1 September. Tender documents can be found at the-chest.org.uk.
Why more greenbelt. Cannot the roofs of existing and future council buildings in town be used equally as well.
By Robert bennett