SOLAR ENERGY PROJECT AT TTC

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is a modal administration agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation. FRA owns the Transportation Technology Center (TTC) located on a secure and remote, 52-square mile tract of land 21 miles northeast of the city of Pueblo, Colorado. The tract is under a long-term lease to FRA from the State of Colorado. The lease currently ends August 22, 2070 and contains an option for FRA to extend through August 22, 2120. Specialized research and testing of railway technology and equipment is conducted at the TTC facility under a care, custody, and control contract between FRA and Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI). TTCI is a private, for-profit company that manages and operates TTC for FRA. TTCI is a current customer of Black Hills Energy Colorado Electric (BHECE) for electric power at the TTC facility. The purpose of this Request for Information is to obtain information and capability statements from interested sources, in order to assess the market potential for the installation of a photovoltaic electric generating facility at TTC that could be implemented using a power purchase agreement (PPA). This RFI coincides with FRA seeking legislative authority for associated 20-year contract authority to replace FRA's current 10-year contract authority for utility services. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has been assisting the FRA in preliminary investigations, coordination and planning discussions for the project, should it materialize once FRA has obtained the authority to move forward with the project. As critical components in the investigation of the feasibility of the project, FRA is seeking expressions of interest, capability statements, and estimates from/for: (1) Parties interested in receiving future solicitation documents, should legislation be enacted and the project moves forward; (2) Reasonable expected market price for the contemplated sale of solar renewable energy credits (SO-RECs); and, (3) kWh price for sale of electricity from the Project to FRA, given: (a) a 10 year power purchase agreement (PPA) term (b) a 20 year PPA term Contemplated Project Structure: The developer would design, finance, install, and, for the term of PPA, own, operate and maintain a ground-mounted PV system. The system would be located within the TTC boundaries. Approximately fifty (50) acres of land would be available for the project. It is currently contemplated that the rated capacity of the project would be 2MW, but FRA could require contractual provisions for optional project expansion after commencement of operation. Elements of the contemplated financial structure and project agreements include the following: - 1. (1) A PPA between the developer and the Federal Government, including metering arrangements, for electricity generated by the project. The site operator (currently TTCI) is to be responsible for electricity payments under the PPA. - 2. (2) A no-cost access agreement with FRA for access to and use of land for project installation, operation and maintenance activities. - 3. (3) A one-time rebate payment from BHECE, to be assigned to the developer, and payable upon confirmation of the commercial operation date. - 4. (4) Payments from a utility to the developer for SO-RECs generated by the project during the term of the PPA. - 5. (5) The developer is to apply for and retain any Federal, State and/or local tax credits for which it may be eligible. - 6. (6) An interconnection agreement with BHECE. - 7. (7) An environmental assessment (EA) has begun for this project. - 8. (8) The EA is to be completed by FRA at no cost to the developer. For detailed information on historical TTC electrical energy consumption and associated cost statistics, as well as the site map, BHECE tariff, a sample utility bill, and electricity usage graphs, interested parties should refer to the complete Sources Sought - Request for Information document for this project posted on FRA's website at http://www.fra/dot.gov. Follow the selection of "Policy & Development" on top menu bar; "Current Programs" on left side menu; "Facilities & Test Equipment" on left side menu; and then click on "SOURCES SOUGHT - REQUEST FOR INFORMATION for TTC Solar Electric Project at TTC" just above the train picture. All questions concerning this RFI should be directed in writing to luis.maal@dot.gov. Interested parties should submit a response in one electronic copy (as a single PDF) to luis.maal@dot.gov by 4:00pm MDT, September 10, 2010. FRA will share information obtained in responses to this RFI with the NREL and the Western Area Power Administration.