Success in meeting offshore wind targets depends not only on well-designed regulations and a robust supply chain. It also depends on well-designed auctions, bidding and procurement processes that encourage investors and service and product providers to participate. A consultancy company Flux Partners is a partner in this area and is keen to share its experience with the Polish industry to improve its chances in the European and global markets. “Many of our clients play a part in the rollout of offshore wind, be it in the development of windfarms, cable laying, civil works for substations or onshore grid infrastructure”, says Flux Partners team. Nathan Meijer, Partner in Flux Partners, Asbjørn Dalgaard, Managing Director & Nordic Lead, and Dominika Lysień, Renewables Advisor at Flux Nordics, shares their experiences and plans for Poland.
What is the core of Flux Partners business?
Flux Partners, with a decade of expertise, stands at the forefront of tender management and non-price criteria (NPC) in large public tenders. Our journey began in the infrastructure and construction sectors, but over the past few years we expanded our focus to the energy sector, particularly offshore wind energy. We believe that our experience with infrastructure and renewables markets is of added value in the further maturation of offshore wind procurement, tendering and project development. Many of our clients play a part in the rollout of offshore wind, be it in the development of windfarms, cable laying, civil works for substations or onshore grid infrastructure.
Our clients seem to value our firm’s collaborative approach and expertise. They express that we are perceived as part of their team, a trusted partner, simply because we are committed to their success and champion their cause. To us, team satisfaction and mutual gains between the contracting entity and contractor (including developers and tier 1 and tier 2 contractors) are equally important.
In addition to our tender management expertise, Flux Partners also provides comprehensive services in project certification support. We offer end-to-end support throughout the certification process, ensuring that projects meet all necessary standards and regulations. We provide expert advice on navigating uncertainties in the certification process, helping the companies to mitigate risks and avoid potential pitfalls.
Flux Partners fosters a culture of high performance and collaboration by prioritizing a positive work environment, encouraging critical thinking and creativity. This culture is driven by our core values: Familiar, Lively, Unlimited, and Xcellence, which emphasize teamwork, enjoyment, continual development, and achieving outstanding results.
“By having Fluxers on your tender and project teams, we cultivate a positive and collaborative atmosphere. Leveraging our extensive experience with collaboration team contracts, we aim to minimize failure costs and additional risks through effective risk management and continuous monitoring of mitigative measures. Our commitment to the highest quality standards and rigorous verification and validation processes spans both organizational and project levels. We are creative thinkers, ideally working in team settings to ensure maximum impact on the projects we work on” says Nathan Meijer, partner in Flux Partners
10 years of experience in the market, a team of more than 100 consultants and a high tender win rate. This influenced the decision to enter further markets in Europe and, in the future, Asia or America. In 2024 alone, we delivered over €5 billion of projects for our clients and in the past quarter, we had a win rate of 74% where 14 of the 19 tenders were won.
We believe in our values, and we believe that others can make use of our knowledge in tender management, project management, sustainability, stakeholder management, procurement and contracting. ¨
“Located in the historic Carlsberg Brewery, our Copenhagen office serves as a central hub for the Nordics, Baltics, and Poland. From here, we call for like-minded partnerships and seek out local talent. We believe that the quality of our work is best achieved through local engagement. That is why we take pride in having native-speaking colleagues who understand the market, culture, and business practices specific to each region” Asbjørn Dalgaard, managing director & Nordic lead.
What is Flux Partners’ role and experience in offshore wind development?
Our DNA lies within the construction industry and like many other companies, we have slided sideways into the renewable sector. Which follows a lot of the same principles as the construction industry.
“Our experience in the offshore wind is based on five years of tender management in the Netherlands and countries around the North Sea. Our references include the 2 GW subsea cable framework agreement, 2 GW land stations and converter stations, offshore wind farms Hollandse Kust West and IJmuiden Ver, as well as several 150 kv converter stations and hydrogen infrastructure. We bring excellence of subsea cable tenders and projects, such as the Bornholm Subsea cable project” adds Dalgaard.
The roles we have taken include bid manager, bid strategist, bid writer, and layout and graphics design responsibilities. Moreover, our advisors bring strong experience with recurring pre-qualification and non-price criteria topics such as system integration, ecology and nature inclusive design, cyber security, corporate social responsibility, and circularity. Flux also has experience in end-of-life cycle calculations and advising solutions for the various steps of decommissioning of offshore wind turbines. Flux’ team typically combines the process role of bid management and bid writer, with content expertise on non-price criteria. Our clients appreciate our multidisciplinary approach to tenders. This means we get involved early on topics like stakeholder management and permitting, contract management and procurement as well as project control roles.=
What challenges does Flux Partners currently see for the offshore wind sector?
Being a multidisciplinary advisory firm, we cover the renewable sector in broad terms. However, as is the case for national governments, offshore wind takes prime. This is also evident in the EUs NZIA where wind is front and center of the green transition. Therefore, the challenge we see is the implementation of the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) on a state level and the consequent procurement and evaluation of renewables tenders. The coming years are expected to be busy with public and private tenders for net-zero technologies. To secure the projects, developers and contractors need to demonstrate excellence on non-price criteria.
The idea behind the non-price award criteria is the recognition of projects that offer broader societal benefits which should be included in the auction design. These criteria typically require project developers and their supply chain to make higher investments to enhance performance in areas such as environmental sustainability. For instance, developing specific nature-positive initiatives to mitigate the ecological impact in the offshore wind tenders and enhance biodiversity. We possess extensive expertise in overseeing marine ecology initiatives at various levels, including project coordination, data analysis, scientific advising, reporting, and quality control.
Non-price criteria can help solve many of the problems faced by states. For instance, grid congestion is a “hot” topic in the Netherlands due to the density of population and presence of heavy industry in its ports and interior. This has been the reason for the Dutch government to include system integration as NPC in the previous two tender rounds. With this criterion, the government gives points to bidders with investments in solutions that do not further burden the grid system. Hydrogen plants, batteries and industrial sized e-boilers are some of the examples we have seen by developers in their bids.
However, the NZIA stipulates that 30% of national tender volumes must include non-price criteria. This leaves a lot of discretion for the government to introduce the criteria to tenders. The government must set up a procurement department and analyze which NPC is most fitting for their unique set of challenges and goals, as well as ensure attractive conditions for the wind tender overall. The non price criteria in tenders should be well-designed and carefully executed, with transparent evaluation and monitoring of commitments to prevent unnecessary complexity and minimize the risk of legal challenges.
Another challenge is the supply chain resilience that plays a significant role in the offshore wind projects rollout. We are aware that there is a strong narrative to protect and enhance the European market to boost wind industry, however, it must be done effectively without exposing the projects in the pipeline for severe and costly delays due to lack of suppliers or vessels. We hear that the Chinese turbines factory is planned in Germany because it was the only company that would guarantee delivery of an 18.5 MW model by 2028. Therefore, it is important to assess how to comply with NZIA, include non-price criteria in tenders but also deliver the projects on time, without excessive delays.
We have just published an extensive report on the NPC, which can be found on our website. It gives an overview of the non-price criteria and auction mechanisms in various markets and presents how important it is to have a strategic position to maximize the chances of winning a tender.
How does Flux Partners see its place in Poland and the Baltic Sea region?
The tense geopolitical situation resulting from Russia’s aggression against Ukraine underlines the urgent need for the energy transformation of the Baltic States and Poland. We can see that these countries are taking this issue very seriously and taking real steps in this direction, e.g., by not renewing the BRELL agreement and disconnecting from the Russian-controlled IPS/UPS electricity system and synchronizing with continental Europe.
Offshore wind energy will be the key to ensure energy security in that region. However, it is necessary to ensure regulatory stability, proper qualification of staff, an efficient permitting system, building a local and thus strengthening European supply chain and involving the public in the process.
Many of our international clients operate in Poland and the Baltics, creating a natural bridge for Flux Partners to the region. We take a leading role in delivering on time, showing our commitment to successful energy transitions and renewable investments in the Baltic Sea region.
“We position ourselves at the heart of renewable projects, linking international players with local stakeholders, winning tenders for developers, and assisting contracting authorities with tendering and procurement. As a knowledge partner, we accelerate projects with creativity, persistence, relationship focus, and proven methods, aiming to increase tender win rates, minimize project risks, speed up development, and ensure top quality” adds Meijer.
This year, we opened a new office in Copenhagen (Flux Nordics Aps), a hub for renewable energy solutions, promoting collaboration among experts from the Nordics and the Baltics. This strategic location strengthens our position in a key renewable energy sector, particularly for offshore wind. Our expansion into the Nordic and Baltic regions highlights our dedication to sustainable and innovative solutions in renewable energy, focusing on wind, cables, and grid systems. The Nordic’s strong track record in offshore wind will enable us to transfer valuable knowledge and insights to Poland and the Baltics. On the other hand, we can also support the Polish or Baltics companies to enter the Scandinavian market and we offer help with tender management and qualitative criteria fulfillment.
We look forward to the regulatory changes that are expected to enter Polish legislation to streamline and enable offshore auctions in 2025. We are curious to see how the Polish legislator will favor qualitative criteria (NPC) and whether they will be included in the upcoming offshore wind auctions. We hear from the industry that it is likely that the qualitative criteria could concern, among others, the support of so-called local content, sustainability, or system integration. In Poland, especially the latter could play a vital role since it would boost investment and innovation in in grid integration and RES balancing solutions.
Polish local content
Poland’s offshore wind sector shows promise with both national and foreign investment. However, the local industry’s potential is underutilized, with only 10-15% local content in Phase I (based on the recent estimations). There is a push for stronger Polish involvement in the supply chain, emphasizing the need for strategic decisions and government support to maximize economic benefits and develop domestic capabilities.
“Flux Partners can enhance the Polish offshore wind industry through expertise in tenders, sustainability, infrastructure, and construction projects, helping Polish companies navigate the tendering process and maximize local content. This will create a robust supply chain and infrastructure, boosting Poland’s industrial involvement in offshore wind projects. Polish local content is not a task for one project, the industry needs to be continuously nurtured and supported”, says Dominika Łysień, Advisor in Renewables at Flux Nordics
We aim to help domestic companies compete with experienced international players in tenders. The Polish shipbuilding, steel, and electricity industries are vital for the offshore wind energy market, and we want to make them competitive in the tendering process. We want to show a positive spill-over effect, in which our skills and experience are transferred to Polish companies. That will strengthen Polish local content in the long term.
Our vision is based on mutual benefits. We learn from the Polish approach to complex projects while sharing best practices from our decade of experience in multidisciplinary projects. We focus on effective management of complex interfaces, stakeholder satisfaction, timely permits, risk minimization, and tailored project approaches. Our can-do attitude and practical approach align well with the Polish work ethic. Good preparation is key, but we also emphasize efficiency, teamwork, and enjoyment while meeting deadlines.
Meet Flux Partners at WindEnergy Hamburg 2024
Flux Partners will be attending WindEnergy Hamburg this September, where we will be located at the Dutch Pavilion, by the stand B7-570 in the Hall 7. We look forward to engaging in discussions on non-price criteria in tenders and how we can assist in winning bids across the Netherlands, Nordics, UK, Germany, Poland, and the Baltic states. Our team from the Netherlands and Denmark will be available to share our insights on tender management, project development, and the strategic use of non-price criteria to secure successful outcomes in offshore wind tenders. This article was created in cooperation with Flux Partners.
