Consultant - Development of a Renewable Energy Sector Action Plan for the Gaza Strip

The Energy sector in Palestine in general and in the Gaza Strip in particular is the backbone of the economy, where providing power services especially electricity will contribute in achieving development goals in many fields such as trade, agriculture and important social services like education and health care.

One of the main obstacles that development efforts in the Gaza Strip encounter is how to improve the efficiency and the degree of reliability of energy supply while making modern and affordable energy services available. Given the huge unmet demand for energy and the instability of energy prices in the recent period, ensuring the availability and sustainability of energy supplies at reasonable prices has become a key issue in the development of energy policy.

Accordingly, there is a vital need to prepare a Palestinian strategy for renewable energy as an important part of the resources matrix, aiming to ensuring that Palestine’s needs in clean and more secure supply of electrical power are met. The Palestinian Energy Authority in the West Bank has developed a clear goal for the year 2020 is as follows:

“To attain 240 GWh gradually (at least) to generate electricity from different renewable resources which is equivalent to 10% of the power that will be produced locally by 2020, according to the strategic plan of the energy sector. “

A similar clear goal should be identified for the energy sector in the Gaza Strip where the crisis of energy is one of biggest challenges that threaten development efforts.

These Terms of Reference (TORs) are created to identify clear objectives and scope of work needed to conduct a comprehensive study of potential renewable energy opportunities in the Gaza Strip including using of available and applicable technologies in this regards.

Objectives of the assignment:

The main objectives of the consultancy are:

Assess the current situation of the Energy sector in the Gaza Strip and identify the best technical options for renewable energy that can be applied there, including wind, solar, marine, wave, tidal, hydro and bio-energy as well as the financial and management challenges and solutions to achieve clear development goals of energy sector in Palestine”.

Scope of work (general tasks):

• Review available previous studies and publications related to renewable energy in the Gaza Strip such as the report published by PENRA, GEDECO, PEA and final assessment report prepared by World Bank and PEA, as well as recent studies produced by other development partners in Gaza;
• Review the Renewable Energy Strategy that was developed by PEnRA and the “Assessment of Renewable Energy Sources” that was developed focusing on the West Bank needs, and identify their applicability in the Gaza Strip, identifying the Gaza Strip special needs and issues;
• Map all renewable energy activities and initiatives that has been implemented in the Gaza Strip and provide an initial assessment on their effectiveness and potentials for further scaling up and applications throughout the Gaza Strip;
• Based on the assessment, identify the best technical options for renewable energy potentials that can be applied in the Gaza Strip.The consultant should identify the costof the different options and include a comparison of the costs of all traditional sources.

The consultant is expected to:

• Meet with all relevant institutions, including local and international partners, to be selected in coordination with UNDP/PAPP, in order to ensure proper information is gathered;
• Define the baseline information for the current available Renewable Energy (RE)needs and initiatives, technologies, future forecasts and applications, with particular emphasison applications that serves water and sanitation sectors, health and education;
• Identify renewable energy sources as well as the best possible technologies in the Gaza Strip and their potential use. This will include but will not be limited to: On ground PV, Roof tops PV, concentrated solar power plants, biogas from Landfills, small scale wind andwind farms;
• Conduct a techno-economic analysis of different technologies for generating electricity from renewable sources in the Gaza Strip including identification of preferable tariff structure specific to each type of proposed technology;
• Identify and propose best options for implementing renewable energy technologies in different sectors in the Gaza Strip with focus on the water and sanitation, health and education sectors;
• Suggest best applicable modifications in solar heating systems that are being used in the Gaza Strip at household’s level;
• Develop detailed action plan for implementing the best renewable energy options in Gaza Strip.The action plan should be presented in phases and cover the period (2014-2017). The action plan should identify potential partners and donors active in the sector.

A full analysis report of the current status of the renewable Energy Sector in the Gaza Strip (objectives, baseline information, challenges, future plans and targets).  The report should have the clear following sections delivered:

• All implemented renewable energy initiatives are mapped out;
• All future applicable sources and technologies of renewable energy are identified and prioritized based on cost analysis and economic feasibility;
• An action plan with clear cost for implementing the best renewable energy options in the Gaza Strip is prepared.The action plan should be presented in phases;
• Recommendations for resource mobilization and list of potential partners and donors active in the sector.

Reporting Deliverables:

• Inception report that describes the methodology and the detailed work plan;
• Inventory and assessment report;
• Final completion report that includes detailed action plan and recommendations on possible follow up actions.

Responsibilities:

• The contract will be signed with UNDP who will be providing all required facilitation.

Duration of the assignment:

• The contract will be valid upon signature and expires after three months.

Payment Terms

Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon satisfactory delivery of the services specified in the TOR:

% Payment

After acceptance of inception report - 15 %

After acceptance of inventory and assessment report - 40%

Completion and acceptance of final report - 45%

Functional Competencies:

• Excellent communication and presentation skills;
• Ability to meet deadlines and prioritize multiple tasks;
• Ability to communicate in one or both of the local languages is an asset.

Education:

• Master degree or PHD in related fields such as Renewable Energy, Energy, electrical or electromechanical Engineering, etc.

Experience:

• A minimum 10 years of international experience in the areas of energy development plans and studies focusing on renewable energy and sustainable development;
• International experience in the preparation of energy strategies, policies, plans, and feasibility studies;
• Experience in the Middle East region and the West Bank and Gaza would be an asset;
• Experience in the development of national or regional energy strategies, plans the projects focused on economic development through providing evidence-based policy advice;
• Documented experience in the development of such studies and Programmes;
• Experience in formulating Energy development strategies and policies.

Language:

• Excellent writing, editing, and communication skills in English.

Documents comprising the Technical Proposal / Documents required for application

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information, which comprises the Technical Proposal:

• Provide personal CV including all qualifications and past experience in similar projects;
• Submit at least two (2) up-to-date recommendation letters;
• Explain why you are the most suitable for the work;
• Provide a brief methodology and/or work-plan on how you will approach and conduct the work; and
• Submit sample report/project document or relevant deliverables;
• Completed financial proposal form, found under Annex III.

Evaluation Process

Preliminary examination

UNDP/PAPP will examine the Proposals to determine whether they are complete, and whether they are substantially responsive to the qualification and experience minimum requirements. A Proposal determined as not substantially responsive will be rejected by UNDP/PAPP and may not subsequently be made responsive by the Applicant by correction of the non-conformity.

Detailed examination

A two-stage procedure is utilized in evaluating the proposals, with evaluation of the technical proposals prior to any financial proposal being opened and compared.

The technical proposals are evaluated on the basis of its responsiveness to the Terms of Reference (TOR).

Below please find the evaluation form for the technical proposals. The obtainable number of points specified for each evaluation criterion indicates the relative significance of weight of the item in the overall evaluation process.

Evaluation Criteria         

Level of Expertise (50 points)

• Experience in specific field (five to ten) 10 points;
• Experience in similar projects of comparable size, complexity and technical specialty (< two projects – 5;two to four projects – 10; > five projects – 20 points);
• Experience in the region and developing countries under comparable conditions (1 to 2 countries – 5;3 to 5 – 8; > 6 countries – 10 points);
• Specialized training in alternative energy(5 points);
• Experience and/or knowledge of/in UNDP or UN projects (1 to 2 years – 5; 3 to 5 – 8; > 6 yrs – 5 points).

Proposed Methodology (40 points):

• To what degree does the applicant understand the task? Have the important aspects of the task been addressed? Is the scope of task well defined and does it correspond to the TOR? Is the conceptual framework adopted appropriate for the task? (20 points);
• Is the presentation of the work-plan clear and is the sequence of activities and the planning logical, realistic and promise efficient implementation to the project? (20 points).

Reputation/Credibility (10 points):

Quality of sample report

Total Obtainable Points =100

In the Second Stage, UNDP/PAPP will open and compare the Financial Proposals received from applicants who attained the minimum technical score of 70% of the obtainable score of 100 points in the evaluation of the technical proposals.

Financial Proposal

Your financial offer in USD shall specify a lump sum figure all inclusive, and shall take into account various expenses incurred during the contract period and shall form the amount of the resulted contract between the winning Consultant and UNDP. No other entitlements will be considered after submission of financial proposals.

The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (number of anticipated working days, all envisaged travel (such as but not limited to all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel), per diems/daily allowances). Fee Breakdown should be attached under a separate sheet.

Candidate is requested to submit the quotation on or before 15 December 2014 (Jerusalem Time). Submissions should be made either via/to e-mail address:  quotation.papp@undp.org or to Fax No. 02-6268257 (If will be sent thru Email: File/Email size should not exceed 5 MB in a single email - quotation could be send by multiple emails as needed). Any submission of the financial proposal via any other mean will cause the whole application from the candidate to be rejected and disregarded.

Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR.

Award of Individual Contract

The procuring UNDP entity reserves the right to accept or reject any Proposal, and to annul the solicitation process and reject all Proposals at any time prior to award of contract, without incurring any liability to the affected applicant or any obligation to inform the affected applicant or applicants of the ground for the UNDP’s action.

The UNDP procuring entity will award the Individual Contract to the First Lowest Technically Responsive Candidate.

This IC is subject to Individual Consultant General Terms and Conditions available on http://jobs.undp.ps/