Biomass Project for U.S. Forest Service Plumas National Forest, Mount Hough Ranger District, Quincy, California

1. BACKGROUND: The Forest Service is seeking any viable and qualified potential contractors that have performed or have the capability to perform the design, implementation, financing, measurement and verification (M&V) services for an Energy Savings Performance Contract Biomass project as outlined below in Paragraph 2, "PROPOSED PROJECT INFORMATION." The Forest Service submitted a "Notice of Intention" to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), "Assisting Federal Facilities with Energy Conservation Technologies (AFFECT)" Program, too, for this work, under Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number: DE-FOA-0000901. (Please be advised that the Forest Service submitted Notices of Intention to DOE for this Regional Office Solar PV project, as well as two Biomass projects on the Plumas National Forest, and for Off-Grid Solar PV projects located on various Region 5 Forests). This Sources Sought Notice is for informational and planning purposes only, in light of the Funding Opportunity Announcement mentioned in the above paragraph. It does not constitute a Solicitation and is not to be considered as a commitment by the Government. All firms responding to this sources sought notice are advised that their response to this notice is not a request that will be considered for contract award. All interested parties will be required to respond separately to any Solicitation posted as a result of this Sources Sought Notice. The information from this Market Research is for planning purposes only and will assist the Government in planning its acquisition strategy. This is strictly Market Research and the Government will not entertain questions concerning this Market Research. Response is strictly voluntary; no reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this Notice or any follow-up information requests. 2. PROPOSED PROJECT INFORMATION: This project will construct a biomass-fired thermal energy system to provide renewable energy heating to four buildings at the Plumas National Forest Mount (Mt) Hough Ranger District Office. The installation will utilize a wood chip-fired boiler to provide heat directly to the structures. The use of a small-scale district heating system for a group of buildings in an isolated location is innovative, and will allow the Mt Hough project to serve as a nationwide prototype for similar groups of Federal facilities. In addition to saving energy and utility costs, this project will utilize locally-sourced biomass fuel gathered from the Plumas Forest during normal fire load reduction activities, further reducing costs and increasing air quality through a reduction in open-air waste burning. A detailed feasibility study was recently completed for the project, which demonstrates energy savings, technical viability, and overall cost savings for the project. This project will greatly aid the Forest Service in progressing toward Federal energy reduction and sustainability goals. Renewable biomass energy will replace reliance on costly propane for heating, and increased air quality will result from a reduction in open-air waste burning. The Mt Hough Ranger District is a rural campus with multiple buildings. Four of the twelve buildings at the site are planned for this project. These are Forest Service Building #2000 (Ranger's Office); Building #2361 (Old Engine Bay); Building #2375 (New Engine Bay); and Building #2370 (Hotshots/BGB). The use of a centralized biomass boiler to serve the four buildings listed above will allow for decreased maintenance, centralized fuel handling, and minimize installation costs by only requiring one small new structure. To access the heat distribution system in each building, trenches would be dug leading from the central boiler to the exterior walls of the existing furnace rooms, or close to the unit heaters. By interconnecting to existing furnaces, the new biomass boiler can work with the existing heat distribution systems and be controlled by the same thermostats, requiring almost no adjustment period for staff. To meet the heat demand from the four buildings, a biomass boiler rated at 250 MBH would cover 92% of heating needs. This means that a small propane boiler would meet 8% of heat demand, on average; most of this demand is represented on extremely cold ("peak") days and on "shoulder" seasons, when outside temperatures are still cool, but heat is only required for a few hours in the morning or evening. During these times, the fossil fuel boiler can be a more efficient heat source, as it can fire up and down within minutes, whereas the biomass boiler system requires up to 30 minutes to warm up and to cool down. A 250 MBH biomass boiler to heat these four buildings can expect to use approximately 48 tons of wood fuel per year (based on local heating degree day data). Total heating fuel costs for the four buildings will be reduced by over 90%. 3. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: The place of performance for this potential project is the U.S. Forest Service, Plumas National Forest, Mount (Mt) Hough Ranger District, 39696 State Highway 70, Quincy, California 95971. It is approximately five (5) miles north of the town of Quincy, located in Plumas County, California. 4. SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS: The Government does not intend to rank submittals or provide any reply to interested firms. This Sources Sought Notice is for Market Research, Planning, and Informational purposes only and is not a Request for Proposal (RFP) nor does it restrict the Government as to the ultimate acquisition approach. The Government will not reimburse respondents for any costs incurred in preparation of a response to this Notice. Your response is requested no later than 1600 Pacific Time on 10 February 2014. Please send responses by email to Renee Jewell at reneejewell@fs.fed.us. Responses should be limited to seven (7) pages or less and must include the attached Sources Sought Questionnaire