C--ATES - Feasibility Study at VAMC Chillicothe & Dayton, OH

In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.215-3, "Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes" This Sources Sought Notice is for information and planning purposes only at this time and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). REQUIREMENT: The Department of Veterans Affairs National Energy Business Center, Program Contracting Activity Central (PCAC) is seeking to fulfill the mandated federal agency energy management requirements of increasing renewable energy consumption as stated in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005), Executive Order (EO) 13423, "Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy and Transportation Management," and EO 13514, "Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance." In concert with these requirements, we are seeking potential sources for the Feasibility Study of an Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage System (ATES) at the Chillicothe VA Medical Center, Chillicothe, Ohio and the Dayton VA Medical Center, Dayton, Ohio. Facility Address Chillicothe VA Medical Center 17273 State Route 104 Chillicothe, OH 45601 Dayton VA Medical Center 4100 W. 3rd Street Dayton, OH 45428 The Department of Veterans Affairs National Energy Business Center (VA-NEBC) Program Contracting Activity Central (PCAC) is seeking interested sources (contractors) for a near-future solicitation and procurement. The contractor shall furnish all materials and labor to provide an in-depth Feasibility Study (FS) of ATES systems at the VA Medical Centers in Chillicothe and Dayton, Ohio. This FS will recommend system locations, and quantify potential energy conservation and cost saving opportunities. Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES) requires a suitable aquifer, into which at least two thermal wells are installed. Other components of an ATES system include heat exchangers, conveyance piping, and mechanical systems and controls necessary to integrate an ATES system with a heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) system. ATES systems typically involve storage and recovery of cold water, although warm water storage is also used, particularly if there is excess heat available in summer months from solar panels or a cogeneration plant. During cold winter weather, groundwater can be pumped through a simple heat exchanger where it is chilled, and stored in a designated cold store portion of an aquifer. Cold groundwater is recovered from the cold store during summer months and used for cooling. After the water has been used for cooling, it has been warmed and is injected into the designated warm store portion of the aquifer. The cycle is repeated seasonally. The contractor will obtain and review available site and energy data and perform a fatal-flaw analysis of the practicable feasibility of ATES at the site, as well as a preliminary economic evaluation and survey of potential incentives and funding mechanisms. The possibility of storing cold water in the winter months, and using it in the summer, and storing hot water in summer, and using it during winter, shall be evaluated. If both summer and winter storage is not possible, then present supporting justification, and evaluate only the feasible storage. Considering site conditions, existing and proposed system components, and operations & maintenance (O&M) costs, conduct a financial analysis for system installation. Other FS tasks shall include (but not be limited to): 1. Perform site visit and meet with VA facility representatives to evaluate the existing cooling systems, identify physical and operational constraints at the site that will affect the location of ATES system components, and to evaluate the potential to use existing equipment (e.g., heat exchangers and wells). 2. Compile and review available hydro-geological and geo-chemical data from the following sources: a. Site facilities staff; b. Local well drillers; c. Municipal sources; d. State sources; and e. Federal sources including United States Geological Survey. This data will be used to develop an understanding of the expected well flow rates, aquifer geometric and hydraulic properties, and aquifer geochemistry. NOTE: Test well drilling is not included in this scope of work. 3. Contact local, state and municipal representatives to review permitting constraints and outline the process of obtaining the necessary approvals to install and operate an ATES system. 4. Develop a conceptual engineering design. Provide a schematic design to be used for the basis of a design-build contracting effort. Develop the recommended technical description for the system to be procured for each site. To the extent possible, develop standard language that, with minor modifications to make it specific to each site, can be used across VA for all ATES procurements of the same type. The intent is this language will become an integral component of the submitted reports released to solicit proposals for designing and installing ATES systems of particular types at specific VA sites. 5. An estimate of the incremental cost and incremental energy savings will be analyzed and a life cycle cost determined based on financial parameters. 6. Identify sources of grants and other funding mechanisms that may be available to offset the cost of the ATES system. Prepare a Phase I Feasibility Study Report to document the results and findings. The report will include an estimated thermal load that could be met by an ATES system, a financial evaluation, along with recommendations for Phase II activities, as appropriate. Because this is a Sources Sought announcement, no evaluation letters and/or results will be issued to the respondents. No solicitation exists. Therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation. The Government reserves the right to consider a small business, SDVOSB, VOSB or 8(a) set-aside based on responses hereto so it is in the interest of small businesses to respond to this notice if they feel that they are capable of meeting the requirements of this project. ADMINISTRATIVE / MISCELLANEOUS: This contract is being procured in accordance with FAR Parts 15, 19, and 36. This project is planned for advertising in May 2012. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 541330 (size standard $4.5 million) applies to this procurement. CAPABILITY STATEMENT: Respondents shall provide a general capabilities statement to address the following information: 1. Please provide no more than three (3) contracts that your company has performed within the last three (3) years that are of comparable size, complexity, and scope to this requirement. Describe your Self-Performed** effort (as either a Prime or Subcontractor). Please be specific and provide a complete reference to include at a minimum the project name, contract award amount, start and completion dates, and the project owners' contact information as this person may be contacted for further information. **Self-Performed means work performed by the offeror themselves, NOT work performed by another company for them for any of the project examples provided. 2. Please identify your company's number of years in business; affiliate information, parent company, and joint venture partners. 3. Respondents shall provide the company's resumes, not to exceed two (2) pages each for key personnel that would be involved in the project and their respective roles. 4. Provide company business size and status as designated by the NAICS and the U.S. Small Business Administration (i.e., Large Business, Small Business, Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, Small Disadvantaged Business, Women-Owned Small Business, Hub Zone Small Business, etc.). 5. Provide the prime contractor's available bonding capacity in the form of a letter of intent from your bonding company with this submission. It is requested that interested contractors submit a response (electronic submission) of no more than 10 pages in length, single-spaced, 12 point font minimum that addresses the above information. This response must be submitted as a single application-generated (not scanned), searchable PDF document that is less than or equal to 5MB in size. Please note that hard copies will not be accepted. Please also include a cover page, which includes, at a minimum: the company's name, address, Dun & Bradstreet number, socio-economic status, point-of-contact name, phone number, and e-mail address. Responses must include the Sources Sought number and project title in the subject line of their e-mail response. Please note that this is a SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE for MARKET RESEARCH PURPOSES ONLY. It will help to determine whether there are sufficient small businesses available capable of meeting the requirements. This notice is for information and planning purposes only. No evaluation letters and/or results will be issued to the respondents. After completing its analyses, the Government will determine whether to limit competition among the small business categories listed above, proceed with full and open competition as other than small business or procure from another source. At this time no solicitation exists; therefore, please do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is issued it will be synopsized in FedBizOpps at https://www.fbo.gov or posted to GSA eBuy at https://www.gsaadvantage.gov. It is the potential offeror's responsibility to monitor these sites for the release of any solicitation or synopsis. Submissions (responses) shall be submitted via email to the primary point of contact listed below by May 3, 2012 at 12:00 P.M., Eastern Standard Time (EST); No phone calls will be accepted. Contracting Office Address: VA National Energy Business Center (VA-NEBC) 6150 Oak Tree Blvd., Suite 300 Independence, OH 44131 Primary Point of Contact: Steven Grzybowski, Contract Specialist E-Mail: contact@example.gov