On February 24, 2012, the U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center in Huntsville, Alabama issued a draft request for proposals (Solicitation No. W912DY-11-R-0036, the "Draft RFP") titled "Large Scale Renewable Energy Production for Federal Installations."
The objective of the solicitation, in its current form, is to procure renewable and alternative energy through power purchase agreements or contractual equivalents for terms of up to 30 years. The government does not want to acquire generation assets, only energy. Projects may be located on or near any federal property located within the United States, including Alaska, Hawaii, territories, provinces or other property under the control of the United States. "The intent is to award contracts to all qualified and responsible offerors, both large and small businesses." As stated in the Draft RFP, the proposed categorization of projects is as follows:
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Energy Production
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Task Order Competition
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Caveats
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Greater than 12 MW
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Unrestricted competition
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4 MW up to 12 MW
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The Contracting Officer will first consider reserving the Task Order for small businesses. The determination will examine the size of the project, the complexity of the project and the level of financing required.
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Before making the determination on a particular project, the Contracting Officer will request a letter of interest from all small business firms. If fewer than two responses are received, the Task Order will open for unrestricted competition.
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Less than 4 MW
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Reserved for small businesses
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If no proposals are received, or if all proposals are technically unacceptable and/or unreasonably priced, the Task Order will open for unrestricted competition.
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Technologies that will be considered include solar, wind, biomass and geothermal. The estimated maximum value of all contracts awarded pursuant to the Draft RFP is $7 billion over a period of 10 years. It is important to note that the final RFP "may significantly vary from this draft." The Army is accepting comments via the ProjNet website through March 21, 2012. The final RFP will be issued at some point after that date.
Please contact any of the attorneys listed below if you have questions regarding the military's involvement in renewable energy development:
Energy Development: David T. Quinby or Chad T. Marriott.
Government/Military Contracting: S. Lane Tucker or Thomas A. Ellison.