A new floating solar scheme on a UK dock shows how public buyers are using early market input to shape complex on-site renewable energy projects.
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Associated British Ports has begun market engagement on a utility-scale floating solar scheme at Cavendish Dock, seeking views on delivery models, risks and supply chain capacity. The planned Barrow EnergyDock Floating Solar project sits at the intersection of port decarbonisation, evolving commercial models for renewables and the growing use of battery storage in public-sector energy programmes.
Published on 5th February 2026, the prior information notice sets out a clear aim: to gather market input on a utility-scale floating solar project at Cavendish Dock. Rather than moving straight to a competition, the buyer is using this stage to test assumptions and refine how the scheme should be brought to market.
The notice highlights three specific areas where Associated British Ports wants structured feedback:
The buyer also signals that these insights will be used to inform future procurement strategies. That places early engagement, rather than a fixed brief, at the centre of the process. For suppliers with experience in solar generation, marine works or complex electrical integration, this is a chance to influence how the eventual tender is scoped, packaged and sequenced.
Although the notice is concise, the reference to a utility-scale installation suggests a project that goes well beyond small demonstration arrays. It points to a dock waterbody being treated as a significant energy asset, with questions of long-term performance, maintenance access and integration into wider site operations likely to sit behind the buyer’s focus on risk and delivery models.
The Cavendish Dock proposal sits within a broader move to exploit water and port infrastructure for clean energy. In September 2025, THAMES WATER UTILITIES LIMITED published a contract notice for a Floating Solar PV Project, covering the funding, design, construction, operation and maintenance of a floating solar installation with a capacity of up to 4MW. All generated energy in that scheme is to be purchased under a Power Purchase Agreement, signalling a long-term commercial relationship rather than a one-off build.
Elsewhere, port and waterway authorities have started to blend floating structures with solar and power systems. In September 2025, the municipal company Dimotiki Anonymi Etairia Agiou Nikolaou – D.A.E.A.N. launched its Agios Nikolaos Port Upgrade, covering floating pontoons, power supply, photovoltaic panels and vehicle charging stations for a tourist port. In October 2025, the maritime administration agency Izpalnitelna Agentsia "Morska Administratsia" sought a contractor for a Pontoon and Photovoltaic Installation on the Danube, as part of a pilot system for monitoring and responding to river pollution.
Ports are also looking at shoreside electrification and vessel-related emissions. In November 2025, Belfast Harbour issued a prior information notice for a Shore Power Facility Partnership, seeking a partner to design, procure and operate a shore power facility for visiting vessels, including power management and tariff setting. Around the same time, Port of Aberdeen moved to procure pilot boats that would maintain safe pilotage while supporting Net Zero targets and using advanced operational technologies.
Taken together, these projects show ports and water-related bodies treating energy infrastructure as a core strategic asset. Some, like the Thames Water floating solar project and Belfast’s shore power facility, explicitly bundle long-term operation and commercial arrangements into the contract. Others, such as the Cavendish Dock scheme, are starting with an open conversation about what delivery model, and what level of risk transfer, the market can sustain.
Another clear trend in recent notices is the pairing of solar with battery storage. In January 2026, Derry City and Strabane District Council advertised a contract for Solar and Battery Energy Solutions at two depots. The council is seeking contractors to design, supply, install and integrate solar photovoltaic systems and battery energy storage solutions, offered across two separate lots.
In August 2025, UNITATEA MILITARA 02384 went to market for an Electric Energy Storage System, specifying a modular storage unit to capture excess energy from a photovoltaic panel system for night-time use. The focus there is squarely on using storage to increase self-consumption of on-site solar generation.
Private and third-sector buyers are shaping the same pattern. Hyppo Hydrogen Solutions Ltd’s September 2025 procurement of a Battery Energy Storage System at Bay Studios sought a system that would enhance a smart local energy system, with capabilities for grid services and renewable integration. The National Mining Museum Scotland, in an October 2025 contract, commissioned a feasibility study for a PV canopy and battery storage, including system sizing and an electric vehicle charging plan.
At community and heritage sites, battery storage is often integral to wider decarbonisation upgrades. Brymbo Heritage Trust’s December 2025 tender for a solar PV system with battery storage at Brymbo Heritage Centre covers design, supply, installation, testing and commissioning, with an emphasis on high performance, compliance with planning and grid connection requirements, and future expansion. Voluntary Action Barra and Vatersay, also in December 2025, sought a contractor to deliver a renewable energy installation for Vatersay Community Hall, combining a wind turbine, solar PV array, hybrid battery storage, upgraded heating and energy-efficient air conditioning, again with a clear focus on integration and grid connection.
Pure-play storage projects are appearing alongside these combined schemes. Versorgungsbetriebe Bordesholm GmbH, in January 2026, launched a contract for the construction of a battery storage system near a PV open space park, covering civil engineering, site enclosure and cable connections as well as optional maintenance.
Across these examples, buyers are repeatedly treating solar generation and storage as a combined investment, often linked to electric vehicle charging, building services or smart local energy systems. While the Cavendish Dock floating solar notice does not itself mention batteries, suppliers working in that space will recognise the direction of travel: public and utility buyers are beginning to specify integrated, controllable energy systems rather than standalone arrays.
The way Associated British Ports is approaching Cavendish Dock mirrors a wider shift towards structured market engagement before tenders are finalised. Birmingham City Council’s Queslett Landfill Solar Project, flagged in a prior information notice in November 2025, seeks to engage suppliers for the design, installation and management of a solar array while explicitly considering various funding and operational models.
The BBC took a similar route in January 2026 with its Solar PV Market RFI, asking for insights on technical solutions, delivery methods and financing models to inform future procurement strategies. South East Wales Corporate Joint Committee, acting for the Cardiff Capital Region, signalled in August 2025 that it wanted to facilitate a Collective Solar PV Purchasing scheme to help local authorities and residents access affordable solar PV systems, battery storage and EV chargers through accredited installers, again starting with advance engagement.
Housing and local authorities are adopting the same pattern for broader decarbonisation work. In September 2025, ateb Housing Group Ltd issued a prior information notice for its Renewables Framework, seeking to engage service providers for retrofit and decarbonisation works aimed at achieving net zero targets. Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, in December 2025, launched a prior information notice for Solar PV Installation at BCP Sites, inviting local suppliers to respond to a questionnaire.
Beyond energy, other public bodies are using pre-market engagement to de-risk complex schemes. Tendring District Council’s January 2026 notice on the Carnarvon Terrace Construction Project seeks market interest and feedback on a regeneration scheme covering demolition of a car park, a new multi-storey car park, community spaces, residential apartments and urban landscaping. The ENVIRONMENT AGENCY, in January 2026, asked for Biodiversity Net Gain Market Feedback to understand market capacity for 7 to 10 watercourse units supporting a flood resilience project in Cornwall.
The common thread is that buyers are no longer treating specifications as fixed internal products. Instead, they are using prior information notices and requests for information to test market capacity, explore risk-sharing arrangements and understand which combinations of technologies and services the supply chain can credibly deliver.
For suppliers eyeing the Cavendish Dock floating solar project, these patterns carry several implications. First, projects are increasingly end-to-end. Thames Water’s floating solar procurement wraps funding, design, construction, operation and maintenance into a single package. Brymbo Heritage Trust’s ground-mounted solar and battery project asks one contractor to design, supply, install, test and commission the full system. Derry City and Strabane District Council is similarly seeking design, supply, installation and integration in one contract.
Second, integration is becoming central to how projects are judged. The Vatersay Community Hall scheme explicitly focuses on integration and compliance with grid connection requirements. The National Mining Museum Scotland’s feasibility study covers system sizing, concept design and an electric vehicle charging plan, not just the generation equipment. Hyppo Hydrogen Solutions sets expectations around grid services and renewable integration for its battery system.
Third, commercial structures are more varied. From the Power Purchase Agreement in Thames Water’s floating solar project to the partnership model proposed for Belfast Harbour’s shore power facility, buyers are open to different ways of sharing risk, funding assets and managing long-term performance. Birmingham City Council’s exploration of various funding and operational models at Queslett Landfill, and the BBC’s interest in delivery and financing models for solar PV, underline that point.
Within this landscape, the Cavendish Dock notice stands out for the openness of its questions. By inviting views on delivery models, risks and supply chain capability before fixing its approach, Associated British Ports is signalling that it wants a realistic, bankable project structure that aligns with what the market can actually provide.
The next step for the Barrow EnergyDock Floating Solar initiative will be how the buyer translates feedback into a defined route to market. In comparable schemes, subsequent contract notices have set out capacities, financing approaches and detailed responsibilities for operation and maintenance. Observers will be looking to see whether Cavendish Dock follows the same path, and whether future documents link floating solar into a wider programme of port decarbonisation measures.
For now, the prior information notice confirms that large dock waterbodies are firmly on the agenda as sites for utility-scale generation. It also reinforces a broader message from recent procurements: that early, detailed engagement with the market is becoming a standard feature of complex energy and infrastructure projects, not an optional extra.
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