Decision details

Bristol City Council operates four sites that have biomass boilers fuelled by wood pellets (essentially, compressed sawdust shaped in to small pellets for ease of handling). This contract renews the supply of pellets to these sites, using a public sector framework compliant with procurement regulations that also ensures the provenance and quality of the fuel supplied.

To appoint AMP Clean Energy (aka Forest Fuels Ltd) to supply wood pellets for the Council’s biomass boilers through the Crown Commercial Service’s (CCS) National Fuels framework.

Option 1 - The current supply of wood pellets is provided by a rolling contract which tracks market prices. Prices under this arrangement have tripled (reflecting wider energy market pressures). Continuation of this contract would expose BCC to ongoing price fluctuations and the risk of higher prices. It should be noted that the incumbent supplier (AMP Clean Energy) has offered the best price under the CCS framework call-off competition.
Although this does involve a significant spend, wood pellets represent
Option 2 -
Option 3 -