DPS brings energy from the sky

Public procurement plays a significant role in building a sustainable future. For a long time, Hansel has also invested in promoting responsibility. A good example of joint procurement that clearly shows the marks of environmental responsibility is the dynamic purchasing system, or DPS, of solar power plants. The DPS is actively used by the Senate Properties, for example, that aims at being one of Finland’s major producers of solar power.

Last year, 16 solar power plants were installed on the roofs of the properties managed by the Senate Properties all around Finland, and the number will increase at the same rate in the next two years at least.

“We are committed to the State of Finland’s emission reduction targets, and the use of solar power is economically smart as well. A power plant will pay itself back in approximately ten years. Solar power’s share of our overall energy need is not significant, but why not use it, since a power plant can profitably be installed on a property’s roof”, says Pasi Hyyppä, who is responsible for the Senate Properties’ solar programme.

After launching the Senate Properties’ solar programme in 2019, it was time to tender the power plants. The Senate Properties knew Hansel from other procurement projects, and they were thus a natural choice for procuring solar power plants. Hansel’s expertise also convinced them. Hansel’s specialists had participated in making the earlier joint procurement of solar power plants for Kuntahankinnat. In this project, good experience was accrued by the current category manager of solar power plants, Pasi Tainio, for example.

“We appreciate the background work Hansel did. It saves us a lot of time, when we can trust that the market survey has been performed carefully, and the suitability requirements of suppliers and other details of tendering have been thought out for us. No need to take any guesses on what is a good requirement and what not”, commends Pasi Hyyppä.

Mini-competitions yield good results

Cooperation ran so smoothly that the Senate Properties decided to use Hansel’s services further. The Senate Properties ordered the implementation of solar power plant tendering from Hansel, i.e., the MinikisaPlus service. Following this, the procurement specialists Anne Majalampi and Heidi Litmanen as well as legal counsel Susanna Pirilä joined the team. There have now been three mini-competitions, with more to come. Hyyppä praises that the competitions have been successful.

“The offers we have received have been good in quality, and their number has continuously increased. We expect a lot from the next mini-competition as well, which will be launched in early spring.”

The Senate Properties has received only positive feedback on solar power from the users of the properties. A worry about climate change is clearly shared.

“All of the users of our properties are willing to use solar power. The amount of positive feedback has even been surprising”, says Pasi Hyyppä.