This procurement guide aims at assisting local authorities or local developers wanting to develop a 4th generation district heating and cooling system (4DHC), more specifically on how to reach out and access carefully selected multiple service providers, qualified expertise and develop good projects.
4th generation district heating and cooling networks are both revolutionary and complex, facing several organisational, technical and financial challenges and they are subject to meet European and national procurement standards. All key aspects have to be thought of, measured and analysed in order to secure high quality planning, construction and future operations processes resulting in positive economic, environmental and social impacts.
First part of this guide shall overview procurement strategies, procedures and general rules. The second part discusses the procurement procedure; steps and timelines, proposing a list of ‘things to keep in mind’. Finally, in the third part, case studies from HeatNet pilot partners are proposed and some DHC good practices from other countries raised in the Appendix.
