HEAT INTERNATIONAL · GFA GROUP
CONFIDENTIAL — CONSORTIUM DISCUSSION

Partnering for Bhutan's solar expansion

HEAT International × SgurrEnergy — proposed consortium for ADB TA 58265-001
"Promoting Solar Farm Expansion" · Consortium kick-off meeting

HEAT International GmbHPart of the GFA Consulting Group
Königstein, Germany
SgurrEnergy IndiaIndependent solar engineering
Pune, India
July 2026Partner introduction & EOI planning
ADB TA 58265-001USD 1.0M · 29 person-months
EOI deadline: 16 July 2026
Agenda

Today: align on the opportunity, the split of work, and the road to a winning EOI

01

Who we are — HEAT International, part of the GFA Group

Climate & energy consultancy, Germany · GFA Group depth in RE regulation and skills development

02

Our current Bhutan project — UNDP/UNCDF MAF solar programme

HEAT's current engagement with the counterpart agencies of the ADB TA

03

The opportunity — ADB TA 58265-001 and how it is scored

USD 160M loan approved · 310 MW pipeline · QCBS 90:10 evaluation mechanics

04

Proposed split of work & joint EOI preparation

Scored positions, output leads, to-dos per partner, timeline and decisions today

Who We Are

HEAT International — a specialist climate & energy consultancy, part of the GFA Consulting Group

1999

founded — climate and energy consulting for governments and development finance institutions

24

experts — in-house team plus retained international specialists

GFA

Group backing: one of Europe's largest development consulting groups (Hamburg)

Focus Areas

Energy transition & NDC delivery

RE market design, PPP/IPP frameworks, blended finance, GHG accounting, cooling, MEPS

How We Work

Policy-to-transaction consulting

From regulatory design to bankable financial models and investment preparation — with three-tier QA on every deliverable

Group Depth

The GFA Group adds firm-level renewable energy references across South & Southeast Asia

As a GFA Group member, HEAT bids jointly as HEAT_GFA — bringing group references that map directly onto the TA's output structure.

Viet Nam · GIZ

4E Programme

RE + EE regulatory framework, wind auction/PPA review, grid-impact studies, utility training

EUR 2.4M2021–2026
Indonesia · SECO

RE Skills Development

Flagship RESD programme Phases I + II — national RE curricula, training-of-trainers, industry partnerships

CHF 11M2020–2028
GCC · EU

Green Transition

EU-GCC clean energy cooperation — HEAT lead, GFA partner: proof of joint HEAT–GFA delivery

EUR 3.0M2023–2026

Reference values and final selection subject to GFA confirmation for ADB CMS entry (≥ EUR 50k, ≤ 5 years rule).

Our Current Bhutan Project

HEAT currently leads the UNDP/UNCDF Mitigation Action Facility solar programme in Bhutan

"Accelerating Decarbonization: Closing the Energy Gap through Market-Driven Solar Power Solutions" — Detailed Project Preparation for 30 MW solar on ~100 healthcare facilities with an explicit national upscaling pathway.

ClientUNDP / UNCDF — Mitigation Action Facility
ContractUSD 244,922 · Aug 2025 – May 2026 · lead consultant
CounterpartsDepartment of Energy (DOE) · Druk Green Power Corp. (DGPC) · Bhutan Power Corp. (BPC) · Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) · Royal Monetary Authority · Ministry of Health · banks
TeamInternational experts + mobilized Bhutanese national team
EndorsementsGovernment letters held from MoENR and MoH
Why It Matters Here

Same counterpart agencies as TA 58265-001

The Department of Energy (executing agency) and DGPC and BPC — Bhutan's generation and grid utilities, the implementing agencies of the ADB TA — are HEAT's daily counterparts under the current programme.

Market First

Bhutan's first private-sector solar framework

ESCO/RESP model, EOI process that mobilized a 157.8 MW / EUR 81.5M private pipeline — 7.4× leverage on public funds.

What HEAT Brings From MAF

Working assets that map directly onto the TA's four outputs — built and validated in Bhutan

PPP / Market Design

RESP + ESCO framework

  • Draft PPA + lease templates
  • Single-Window Facility: approvals 12–18 → 6–9 months
  • Competitive EOI process live
Finance

Regulator-validated models

  • ERA tariff model — matches official calculator within 0.03 Nu/kWh
  • Blended-finance facility (GFF) design
  • 144-scenario DSCR/IRR engine
GESI & Skills

Costed GESI framework

  • Bhutan's first costed GESI Action Plan for solar
  • Women-led enterprise criteria, youth targets
  • National gender expert mobilized
Where we complement each other: utility-scale solar engineering, hydro–solar dispatch and power-system studies sit with SgurrEnergy; policy, finance and country access with HEAT.
02

The opportunity — a financed 310 MW pipeline, not a paper study

The Assignment

ADB TA 58265-001: five years inside Bhutan's solar programme — four outputs, milestone-paid

ContractUSD 1.0M lumpsum, output-based · QCBS 90:10 (STP)
Team29 person-months · 7 international + 3 national consultants
PeriodSep 2026 – Aug 2031, intermittent
AgenciesDOE (executing) · DGPC + BPC (implementing)
EOI deadline16 July 2026, 23:59 Manila — via ADB CMS; HEAT draft EOI ready for joint review
O1

Hybrid hydro–solar operations

Digital monitoring, forecasting, dispatch — interim at month 24

20%
O2

Policy + PPP/IPP frameworks

Rules for private-sector solar — month 36

20%
O3

Investment prep & O&M

Pre-feasibility, bankability, O&M guidelines — month 48

25%
O4

Stakeholders, GESI, RE skills

Talent programmes, inclusion — month 56

25%

Plus inception (10%). Half the contract value sits in Outputs 3 + 4 — ADB is buying lasting institutional capacity.

Why This Is Strategic

On 30 June 2026 ADB approved the USD 160M Solar Farm Expansion loan — this TA makes that pipeline work

310 MW

Financed subprojects

Wobthang 120 MW + Pedseling 40 MW (Bumthang), Dramthang 150 MW (Lhuentse) + 46 km transmission by BPC

1,000 MW

Winter deficit by 2030

Peak winter demand tripled 2021–2025 (487 → 1,477 MW) in a ~99.8% hydro system — solar is counter-seasonal energy security

1st

Private-majority PPP

Bhutan's first private-majority energy PPP — catalyzing ~USD 68.7M in private equity and commercial debt

70%

Women in green skills

250+ skills beneficiaries, ≥70% women, IF-CAP financed — GESI is a scored win theme, not an annex

The consultant's job: make a financed pipeline dispatchable, bankable, socially accepted — and institutionally repeatable by DOE, DGPC and BPC. Strong follow-on potential across ADB's expanding Bhutan portfolio.
Evaluation Mechanics

QCBS 90:10 — six scored CVs and a program-specific methodology decide this, not price

~50%

of technical score: the six international key experts — scored individually, no weak CV can be averaged away

~40%

methodology — must name real counterparts, assets and data flows: DGPC dispatch, BPC grid, ERA tariff interface

2–3 pts

value of a ~20% price advantage at 90:10 — cost engineering matters, price aggression does not win

Lesson From Recent ADB Bids

ADB ranks comparatively — passing the threshold is not enough

Generic regional experience loses to line-by-line ToR specificity. Every CV and every methodology section must map explicitly to this TA's tasks, counterparts and milestones. That discipline is the core of our joint STP plan.

03

Proposed consortium & split of work

Consortium Logic

The consortium logic: established Bhutan presence combined with independent solar engineering

HEAT — Lead

Incumbency, policy & finance

  • Sole lead & contracting party to ADB
  • Team Leader, PSD, Financial + Gender positions
  • Established DOE, DGPC, BPC and ERA working relationships
  • QA + all ADB/EA interface
SgurrEnergy — Engineering Anchor

Utility-scale solar capability

  • Solar Power Specialist CV (scored)
  • 185+ GW advisory, 55+ countries, 200+ engineers
  • Independent of EPC/OEM/developer interests
  • India hub — regionally cost-effective delivery
Open Position — To Resolve Together

Power System Specialist (scored, 10 yr) — hydro-dominated grid dispatch & stability

First question to Sgurr: can your bench field a named CV with real power-system operations experience in hydro-dominated grids? If yes — you carry two scored positions. If not — we jointly agree an external CV route before STP drafting starts.

Split of Work — Positions

Proposed allocation of the six scored positions — solar engineering anchored by SgurrEnergy

Scored position (international)SourceAnchor evidence
Energy Sector Specialist / Team Leader · 15 yrHEATCurrent MAF Team Leader in Bhutan; EA-level relationships with DOE, DGPC, BPC
Solar Power Specialist · 10 yrSGURRUtility-scale PV design/engineering bench; 185+ GW advisory portfolio
Power System Specialist · 10 yrOPENSgurr bench vs. jointly-agreed external CV — decision gate before STP drafting
Private Sector Development Specialist · 10 yrHEATDesigner of Bhutan's ESCO/RESP framework, PPA/lease templates, Single-Window Facility
Gender Specialist · 10 yrHEATInternational GESI CV backed by HEAT's costed Bhutan GESI Action Plan + national counterpart
Financial Specialist · 10 yrHEATBlended-finance facility design; ERA-validated tariff model; DSCR/IRR toolkit

Plus 3 national positions (Social, Environment, Gender) from HEAT's already-mobilized Bhutanese MAF team — scoring on ADB's national-expert sub-criterion. Indicative volume: HEAT-side ~17–19 PM · Sgurr ~7–9 PM · Power System ~2–3 PM, refined against the RFP's per-position table.

Split of Work — Outputs

Sgurr leads the engineering of Output 1; HEAT leads policy, finance and inclusion; Output 3 is shared

WorkstreamLeadSplit
Output 1 — hybrid hydro–solar operations, monitoring / forecasting / dispatchSGURRSgurr: solar variability, forecasting, grid interface + Power System expert on dispatch · HEAT: DGPC/BPC institutional interface, pilot governance
Output 2 — policy, regulatory + PPP/IPP frameworksHEATHEAT: market design, ERA interface, PPA risk allocation · Sgurr: technical standards & grid-connection input under HEAT direction
Output 3 — investment preparation, pre-feasibility, O&M guidelinesSHAREDSgurr: technical pre-feasibility, O&M manuals · HEAT: financial analysis, safeguards, transaction structuring
Output 4 — stakeholder engagement, GESI, RE Talent & SkillsHEATHEAT: GESI framework, stakeholder process (+ GFA RESD model) · Sgurr: technical training content
QA, ADB & agency interface, reportingHEATHEAT exclusively — single voice to ADB and the executing agencies; all deliverables pass HEAT's three-tier QA

Clean boundaries protect the evaluation story: independent engineering (Sgurr) + conflict-free policy design (HEAT) is exactly what ADB needs for Bhutan's first private-majority PPP process.

Critical Eligibility Requirements

Hard gates before the EOI — and the specific package we need from SgurrEnergy

ADB Hard Requirements — All Firms
  • ADB CMS registration active for every consortium member before submission
  • References: min. 3 per firm — each ≥ EUR 50k, completed/ongoing within the last 5 years, relevant, with client contact details
  • COI clearance: no common control with project developers/IPPs in the Bhutan pipeline; full disclosure of live Bhutan/India energy mandates
  • CVs jointly signed by expert and firm (known ADB rejection trigger)
  • Legal registration + corporate documentation per firm
Requested From SgurrEnergy — By 11 July
  • 3 compliant solar references (≥ EUR 50k, ≤ 5 yrs, utility-scale PV / grid / bankability, client contacts) — ADB-funded work is a plus
  • Corporate ownership evidence: registry extract + shareholder structure confirming independence (incl. Wood Group separation statement)
  • ADB CMS registration confirmation for SgurrEnergy India Pvt Ltd
  • Named Solar Power Specialist CV (10 yr) + Power System bench candidates for the joint decision gate
  • COI schedule: live engagements touching DGPC, BPC, Tata, Adani, Reliance or Wobthang/Pedseling/Dramthang bidders

HEAT mirrors the same package: 3 verified HEAT/GFA references, CMS status, COI declarations — exchanged simultaneously under the NDA.

Road To Submission — EOI Due 16 July

Eight days to the EOI — what each partner delivers, by when

01

Teaming foundation: NDA + exclusive teaming agreement

Two-way exclusivity for TA 58265-001, scope annex, rate-card principles — signed before deep technical sharing

JOINT · BY 09 JUL
02

Compliance pack per firm

ADB CMS registration confirmed · corporate/ownership documentation · COI declarations incl. live Bhutan/India engagements

EACH FIRM · BY 11 JUL
03

References: 3 clean entries per firm

Each ≥ EUR 50k, ≤ 5 years, ADB-relevant, with client contacts — Sgurr solar references; HEAT/GFA policy, finance & skills references

EACH FIRM · BY 11 JUL
04

Key-specialist inputs for the EOI

Sgurr: named Solar Power Specialist + Power System bench view · HEAT: TL, PSD, Financial, Gender coverage — availability confirmed

EACH FIRM · BY 13 JUL
05

Finalize & submit EOI via ADB CMS

HEAT drafts (v1 ready), Sgurr reviews engineering sections; submit with buffer on 15 July

HEAT · 15 JUL
06

STP head start: Output-1 pilot concept + CV-to-ToR matrix

Hybrid dispatch + forecasting demonstrator on a named DGPC asset — the program-specific centrepiece of the methodology

JOINT · FROM 17 JUL
Decisions Today

Confirm the partnership, the position split, and the 16 July submission plan

Agree Today

1 · Exclusive teaming: yes/no + signature path
2 · Power System Specialist: Sgurr bench or external CV
3 · Named Solar Power Specialist CV
4 · Working-level contacts both sides

Contact

Dietram Oppelt
Managing Director, HEAT International GmbH
dietram.oppelt@heat-international.de
Königstein, Germany