The 'light' section

The contract notice within the 'light' section was published on 14 November 2019 on e-procurement. Deadline for applications was 16 December 2019.

Procedure used: Competitive procedure with negotiation according to the principles of Best Value Procurement.

The contract includes:

• Transformation (design and installation) of the existing public lighting installation by an intelligent lighting installation including maintenance for a period of 12 years) 
• Realisation of a pilot project with a representative scale in order to make a good evaluation of new control techniques/algorithms in function of traffic density and/or conflict situations by applying new technologies to be developed to start controlling the ecological lighting installation as efficiently as possible. 
• Set up test environment to investigate new applications and services.

Selection phase:

Five candidate applications were received. One candidate did not meet the selection criteria.

Award phase:

Four of the five retained candidates were invited to submit their initial bids in early March 2020. Two initial bids were received, one of which was irregular.

Negotiations ran between March and July 2020 to shape the contract in more detail according to the principles of Best Value Procurement.

The contract was awarded to Fabricom NV in September 2020.

The 'energy' section

During 2021, it was decided by mutual agreement between VEB, Halle and PIO to discontinue this section for the following reasons:

• The ZES feasibility study (dd January 2020) had developed several scenarios for renewable energy (solar, wind, hydro or a combination of various energy sources). Even though Halle had not yet made a final choice between these scenarios, Halle preferred a combination of hydropower and PV. However, since 1 January 2021, the framework conditions around green power certificates (GSC) for PV installations were changed. GSC were abolished and replaced by investment support according to the call principle. This change would negatively affect the business case as elaborated in the ZES feasibility study. It would also make the most profitable scenario (solar/water) an investment risk for energy cooperatives, making the likelihood of conducting a tender with no bids real.
• With the passage of time, the innovative aspects (power purchase agreement, micro hydropower, etc.) of the energy section were no longer as innovative in 2021. Whereas a power purchasing agreement (PPA) was still relatively new for cooperatives in 2017, it became more common by mid-2021. Ditto for the creation and management of small hydropower plants. 

Taking the above arguments into account, it was decided that the City of Halle would be better off investing its resources in more cost-effective climate projects that also contribute more to the climate goals towards 2050.

That this section was not pursued does not detract from the innovative nature of the entire project. The 'light' component in itself contains sufficient innovative and experimental aspects (fading, dimming & extinction, light-as-a-service, fauna-friendly lighting, etc.) and in itself contributes to the climate objectives (reduction of energy consumption). Moreover, with this 'light' section, Halle is taking an important step together with Fluvius as a 'first mover', which, in case of success, can be scaled up further in Flanders.