---
title: "Heat network techno-economic feasibility study for Culham"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-05945d"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-05945d"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05945d.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05945d.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "SOUTH OXFORDSHIRE DISTRICT COUNCIL"
published: "2026-03-27"
---

# Heat network techno-economic feasibility study for Culham

Buyer: SOUTH OXFORDSHIRE DISTRICT COUNCIL  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-05945d

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## Summary

South Oxfordshire District Council has awarded a contract to AECOM LIMITED for a techno-economic feasibility study of a heat network in Culham, South Oxfordshire. This project is centred around the potential development of a heat network utilising waste heat from large data centres being constructed in Culham Campus, which is designated as the first AI Growth Zone by the UK Government. The procurement was conducted via an open method below the threshold for competition and the contract, with a value of £60,453, will run from 26th March 2026 to 31st December 2026. This award follows a series of procurement stages, including planning activities initiated on 4th September 2025, with a tender notice published on 17th November 2025. The focus lies in consulting services within the environmental and energy-efficiency engineering domains, aiming to support upcoming planning applications pertinent to the site and the strategic use of renewable heat sources.

This tender presents significant opportunities for businesses specialising in environmental engineering, energy efficiency, and heating technology to gain a foothold within the burgeoning AI Growth Zone. Companies with expertise in heat network development, particularly those incorporating low carbon solutions, stand to benefit from this initiative as it sets the groundwork for extensive projects involving new residential and commercial building developments. The consultancy services required align with cutting-edge environmental engineering objectives, providing SMEs and large-scale businesses with the chance to position themselves as leaders in sustainable development practices and contribute to the long-term energy efficiency goals set within South Oxfordshire’s strategic planning framework.

## Notice

Culham has been designated as the first AI Growth Zone by the UK Government. As part of this, a 100MW data centre is being developed on Culham Campus, with aspirations for up to 500MW of data centres in the longer term. There may also be a further data centre proposed for the adjacent No. 1 site which is allocated for employment use. There is an opportunity to recycle waste heat from large computer systems storing internal data to supply heating for the local community, supplying heat to multiple buildings from a central source. The National Zoning Model does not yet identify this area as a potential heat network zone as the waste heat sources do not yet exist. The timescales for completion of the data centre are uncertain and subject to planning permission, however it is likely to be within the next five years, with an ambitious completion date suggested to be April 2028. Therefore, the council urgently needs to better understand how to capture the opportunities for low carbon heat networks arising from these developments. The South Oxfordshire Local Plan 2035 (adopted December 2020) has allocated: * land adjacent to Culham Campus for construction of 3,500 new homes - this development is a potential end user of the heat network. * A net increase of at least 7.3 hectares of employment land at/adjacent to Culham Campus - this may be a heat supplier or end user depending on the types of commercial development which come forward. A Local Development Order is being developed for the site. A previous heat mapping and energy masterplanning study for Culham was developed in 2017. This proposed three different potential heat network technologies for the site: * gas engine CHP with supplementary backup gas boilers; * centralised biomass boilers with supplementary backup gas boilers; * water source heat pump in River Thames with supplementary backup gas boilers. While the modelling and information in this study remains useful as background information, there have since been significant technological advances and changes to planned development for the site which means that this work would need to be revisited and updated as part of the techno-economic feasibility study. At this stage, the council has not committed to taking forward beyond the techno-economic feasibility study stage. Restrictions associated with local government reorganisation (LGR) will limit this council's ability to progress this project beyond the feasibility stage. However, the feasibility study will put the project in the best possible position for a third party or the successor authority, once established, to decide to progress the scheme. Furthermore, the planning applications for data centres and other nearby development are highly likely to be submitted before LGR is complete in 2028. Therefore, information is needed now so that South Oxfordshire District Council can consider whether planning powers could be utilised to require developments to be designed and constructed to supply or connect to a future heat network, including through the forthcoming Culham Local Development Order. The Council is seeking a single supplier to provide these consultancy services.

### Planning Information

We are seeking to undertake soft market engagement to understand the abilities and indicative costs of the supply chain in relation to undertaking heat network feasibility studies to a potential site at Culham, South Oxfordshire. 
Participants are requested to provide their responses in the boxes within the Specification document and return these via the Proactis portal message function no later than 5pm Monday 22 September 2025. This deadline will not be extended.
https://procontract.due-north.com/Advert?advertId=e2f4898b-ed87-f011-813a-005056b64545&p=08800155-5442-e511-80ed-000c29c9ba21

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/028497-2026 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - open competition |
| Tender suitability | SME, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Planning, Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 27 Mar 2026 |
| Submission deadline | 5 Jan 2026 |
| Future notice date | 22 Sep 2025 |
| Award date | 26 Mar 2026 |
| Contract period | 26 Mar 2026 - 31 Dec 2026 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £88,000 |
| Lots value | £88,000 |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £60,453 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | SOUTH OXFORDSHIRE DISTRICT COUNCIL |
| Locality | ABINGDON |
| Post town | Oxford |
| Postcode | OX14 3JE |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLJ South East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLJ1 Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire |
| ITL 3 | TLJ14 Oxfordshire CC |
| Local authority | Vale of White Horse |
| Electoral ward | Abingdon Abbey Northcourt |
| Westminster constituency | Oxford West and Abingdon |
| Delivery location | TLJ14 Oxfordshire CC |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | AECOM |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 71 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services

### Codes

- 71313000 - Environmental engineering consultancy services
- 71314300 - Energy-efficiency consultancy services
- 71314310 - Heating engineering services for buildings

## Release History

- 27 Mar 2026 at 12:41 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/028497-2026
- 17 Nov 2025 at 14:57 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/074444-2025
- 4 Sep 2025 at 14:45 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/054020-2025

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/028497-2026
  27th March 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/074444-2025
  17th November 2025 - Tender notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/054020-2025
  4th September 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- https://procontract.due-north.com/ProjectManagement/ProjectDashboard?projectId=1abfcb19-c1c3-f011-813a-005056b64545
  This tender opportunity is advertised on Proactis portal accessed by the above link

## Notice URLs

- http://www.aecom.com
- https://procontract.due-north.com/Advert?advertId=e2f4898b-ed87-f011-813a-005056b64545&p=08800155-5442-e511-80ed-000c29c9ba21
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-05945d. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05945d.json.