Expression of Interest are invited for Feasibility Assessment for Networked Ground Source Heat Pump Systems for Heating & Cooling in Uzbekistan. Publication Date: 03/06/2025 12:00 AM EST EOI Deadline: 03/19/2025 11:59 PM EDT Description: The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is seeking expressions of interest from qualified consultants (firm) to develop a model for delivering a sustainable, affordable, and reliable heating and cooling system in Uzbekistan using 5th Generation Networked Ground Source Heat Pumps (NGSHP) technology. A. Background District heating systems in Central Asia, including Uzbekistan, are outdated, often gas or coal-fired, and need upgrading. Gas supplies are running low, making new gas heating systems impractical. This has led to unsafe, unreliable, and expensive alternative heating methods. Regulatory and operational deficiencies further exacerbate the inefficiency of the district heating sector. Governments are initiating programs to modernize the district heating sector, improve energy efficiency, and explore renewable energy sources. Geothermal technologies range from deep geothermal for electricity generation to shallow systems using ground source heat pumps (GHP) for heating and cooling. Shallow geothermal, deployable almost anywhere, offers efficient heating and cooling without relying on critical metals. When connected on a shared thermal network, GHPs can provide even greater efficiency. Geothermal heating is considered the most energy-efficient and environmentally safe by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. With about 50% of global energy used for heating and cooling, shallow geothermal systems hold significant potential for decarbonization. They are being scaled up in regions like the US, EU, China, and Turkey but are less common in the Middle East and Central Asia. The heating system in Uzbekistan is primarily based on individual gas boilers, with a significant portion of the heating demand being met by these systems. Heating is responsible for a substantial portion of energy consumption in various sectors. In public buildings, heating accounts for about 70% of energy consumption in regional hospitals, 84% in pre-schools, 88% in rural clinics, and 97% in public schools. In the residential sector, heating is responsible for about 67% of the final energy consumption. Most space heating in buildings is generated from individual gas boilers. There are approximately 21,340 public buildings, 135,255 commercial buildings, and 3,957,485 residential buildings in Uzbekistan. About 10% of the buildings use centralized district heating, while 90% use heat generated from individual boilers. The centralized district heating systems are mostly found in Tashkent and are based on old Soviet-era boilers. The heating systems, particularly the individual boilers, are largely inefficient and outdated. About 75% of the boilers have been in service for 10 years or more, and approximately 35% are homemade using non-standard components, leading to higher gas consumption. The buildings themselves are generally in poor condition, with high energy intensity and below-standard comfort levels. With more than 2.5 million inhabitants, Tashkent owns the biggest heating network, which supplies heat and hot water to some 1.2 million inhabitants, i.e. nearly half of the citys population. The system comprises 1,926 km of pipes, of which 73% are underground. Tashkent district heating is supplied by Veolia. Veolia is awarded a 30-year concession contract for the operation, maintenance and management of the district heating system of the city of Tashkent, B. The Objective of the Assignment The purpose of this assignment is to define the development of a feasibility report that provides detailed analysis of the technical and cost-benefit analysis important for the deployment of a utility scale (10,000-30,000 housing units) networked surface geothermal system in Uzbekistan using GHP. This work package will be instrumental in advancing to the following projects phases which would entail the procurement of design engineering services and eventually construction services to deploy the network. The assignment is expected to have the following workstreams C. Scope of Work The Consultant is expected to support IFC in proposing and assessing the feasibility of deploying networked geothermal systems of a particular site/location in Uzbekistan. The assignment will be to conduct an analysis across two feasibility metrics: - Metric 1 will be technical feasibility. This will involve the review and analysis of the potential performance of a network of ground sourced heat pumps in Uzbekistan. This should be based on available documentation and information on the local geology, ground temperatures, drilling conditions, building stock, regulatory environment, and climate zone data. Specific attention should be given to an estimate of potential borefield performance in Uzbekistan and a review of any existing GHP systems currently in operation. IFC will also provide internal report on GHP in Uzbekistan. - Metric 2 will be cost-benefit analysis and economic feasibility. This will involve analysis of the potential economics of a networked geothermal deployment in Uzbekistan. Specifically, a review of the estimated installation costs for a district scale system that could serve on the order of 10,000-30,000 household equivalents. The analysis should also compare the costs for average customers to operate a GHP to existing costs for heating and cooling using traditional solutions. Any current subsidies for either heating or electricity will also be critical to this analysis in order to get a full picture of the overall performance vs cost. Qualification criteria: The selected Consultant should possess strong technical expertise and experience for undertaking high-level feasibility studies; GSHP performance analysis; energy market analysis and cost projections. Prior experience working on heat pump projects and district energy type systems is desirable. Consultants should also be able to provide past projects completed and references for similar projects to the outlined scope. International consultants or consultants located outside of Uzbekistan should have a local partner and the details should be included in the Expression of Interest (EOI). Tender Link : https://wbgeprocure-rfxnow.worldbank.org/rfxnow/public/advertisement/4927/view.html
