USDA Forest Service On- and Off-Grid PV System O&M Services

1.0 Description The United States Forest Service (USFS), under the United States Department of Agriculture, is seeking information regarding interested contractors for providing operations and maintenance (O&M) services for on-grid systems located in eight (8) locations in Southern California plus off-grid photovoltaic (PV) systems located in five (5) locations throughout the State of California. THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This is Market Research only in accordance with FAR Part 10. This is not a solicitation. THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) NOTICE ONLY. This RFI is for informational and planning purposes only and it does not constitute a Request for Quote (RFQ) or a promise to issue an RFQ in the future. It is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government for any actual procurement of products, materials, machinery, or services. Respondents are advised that the Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI. All costs associated with responding to this RFI are solely at the responding parties' expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website. It is the responsibility of the potential offerors to monitor this site for additional information pertaining to this requirement. No determination as to the viability of this potential requirement has been made at this point and there is currently no solicitation for this effort. By responding to this RFI you grant the Government permission to share your submitted capabilities and contract information with other Government organizations in relationship to similar requirements for market research purposes. 2.0 Background On-Grid PV Systems Via an Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) ENABLE Project, which has now been paid in full, U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Region 5 implemented a set of eight (8) on-grid photovoltaic (PV) systems across the Los Padres and San Bernardino National Forests. The USFS owns these PV systems and, thus, has responsibility for O&M. Off-Grid PV Systems Via an Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) ENABLE Project, U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Region 5 implemented a set of off-grid photovoltaic (PV) system installations with battery back-up at five (5) locations throughout California. While the USFS does not assume ownership of these systems until the financed project is paid in full (note: ESPC ENABLE performance period extends beyond the term for O&M services), the USFS has responsibility for the O&M of the systems. The USFS seeks to manage these on- and off-grid assets and maximize their potential benefit to each location. As such, the USFS seeks an O&M contractor to make immediate, corrective items and subsequently perform regular O&M services in following years. 3.0 Scope of Work For both the on- and off-grid PV systems, the successful Contractor will be required to: 1. Keep all solar PV systems in good repair, good operating condition, appearance and working order in compliance with the manufacturers' recommendations, all manufacturers' warranties and the Company's standard practices (but in no event less that Prudent Industry Practices). 2. Provide service for all components of all covered systems following the manufacturers' written operating and servicing procedures and in accordance with the Customer agreements. 3. Replace any part of a covered system that becomes unfit or unavailable for use under the customer agreements from any cause (whether or not such replacement is covered by a maintenance agreement) with a replacement part of a covered system. 4. Provide Operation and Maintenance for the solar PV systems, to include: a. Online monitoring (where feasible) b. Performance monitoring, notification, and troubleshooting - must have personnel available to notify property owner of an outage or decrease in system production c. Corrective maintenance to mitigate any risk to the system or minimize downtime d. System Performance Reports that compare actual production to predicted production e. Preventative maintenance and inspections to identify and fix problems before they occur, including infrared photography for hot spots, manufacturer recommended maintenance, hardware torque checks, and PV array cleanings. f. Visual inspection for water infiltration and site erosion. g. Removal and trimming of branches and limbs that are shading the PV arrays. h. Safety Plan for each site. i. Response Plan for each site. j. Array inspection and cleaning at a minimum of twice (on-grid) and once (off-grid) annually, with additional cleaning as required by array performance and Respondent's operational standards. k. Weed Abatement and removal of debris around the roof- and ground-mounted solar PV systems (on-grid) and the MS and SA PV array trailers (off-grid). l. Inspection and maintenance of battery banks, 3 Lead-Acid and 2 Lithium-Ion (off-grid only). m. Inspection and maintenance of generator trailers (off-grid only). n. Inspection and maintenance of solar PV array trailers (off-grid only). Moreover, upon contract execution, the Contractor will perform the corrective items necessary to bring the USFS's solar PV systems into full operation as agreed under the response plan. 4.0 Geographic Area Targeted ON-GRID PV SYSTEMS The USDA Forest Service Region 5 owns and operates eight (8) PV systems located at: - San Bernardino Supervisor's Office, 602 South Tippecanoe Avenue, San Bernardino, CA 92408 - Big Bear Discovery Center, 40971 N Shore Drive, Big Bear, CA 92314 - Idyllwild Ranger District, 54270 Pine Crest Avenue, Idyllwild, CA 92549 - Lytle Creek Ranger District, 1209 Lytle Creek Road, Lytle Creek, CA 92358 - Mill Creek Ranger District, 34701 Mill Creek Road, Mentone, CA 92359 - Ojai Ranger District, 1190 East Ojai Avenue, Ojai, CA 93023 - Santa Barbara Ranger District, 3505 Paradise Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93105 - Santa Maria Ranger District, 1616 Carlotti Drive, Santa Maria, CA 93454 OFF-GRID PV SYSTEMS The USDA Forest Service Region 5 and Trane US, Energy Services Company (ESCO) own and operate five (5) off-grid PV systems located at: - Cleveland National Forest, Pine Hills Fire Station, 17158 Boulder Creek Road, Julian, CA 92036 - Los Padres National Forest, Pacific Valley Ranger Station, Lat: N 35 55.963 Long: W 121 28.138 - Mendocino National Forest, Soda Creek Fire Station, 27355 Road 20N01, Potter Valley, CA 95469 - Plumas National Forest, Frenchman Work Center, Lat: 39'53'19.5" Long: 120'11'25.55" - Sequoia National Forest, Blackrock Work Center, Lat: 36.0012 Long: -118.3782 5.0 Requested Information The purpose of this request is to obtain information for acquiring the above services from qualified small and large businesses related to work experience, capabilities, approach, and methodologies with the capability of providing Operations & Maintenance services, as defined within the "Scope of Work" above (see Section 3.0). 6.0 Questions/Items to Address in Response General Questions 1. What is the Official Name of your Business? 2. What is your Business Address? 3. Identify a Responsible Point of Contact who can be contacted regarding your response, their phone number, and email address. 4. Is your firm a Large Business, Woman-owned, Small Business, a Certified 8(a) Small Business, Certified HUBZone Business and/or Service Disabled veteran owned concern? (Specify all that apply). 5. Would you be proposing on this contract as a Sole Contractor, Prime Contractor with Partner(s), or Prime Contractor with Team Member Subcontractor(s)? 6. Does your Company have experience in working on Federal Government facilities? 7. How many years of experience does your firm have in providing O&M services for solar PV systems? Note the number and scale (in kW) of projects for up to five (5) related efforts. 8. Does your Company have the capability to coordinate all work from all trades to include subcontractors and suppliers relative to the awarded contract? 9. Does your Company have demonstrated expertise/experience in renewable energy systems, and specifically with on-grid PV systems and/or off-grid PV systems? 10. Please identify which of the eight (8) on-grid and five (5) off-gird locations you will be able to service (see Section 4.0 for listing of locations). 11. Please provide a summary statement of qualifications demonstrating your company's technical capacity to address the stated need. Additional Questions for Companies Interested in Servicing Off-Grid PV System Locations 1. What is your experience interfacing with 3rd-party financed projects, whereby the entity contracting your services does not own the systems on which you will be working? 2. Please describe your company's organizational structure to promptly (i.e., within 24-48 hours) address needs at this decentralized set of rural project sites (n=5). 7.0 Responses Responses are due no later than JUNE 28, 2019 at 2:00 PM PST. Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED. Respondents are solely responsible for properly marking and clearly identifying any proprietary information or trade secrets contained within their response. The Government will not be liable for, or suffer any consequential damages for any proprietary information not properly marked and clearly identified. Proprietary information received in response to this sources sought will be safeguarded and handled in accordance with the Trade Secrets Act (18 U.S.C. 1905). Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned. 8.0 Summary THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY to identify sources that can provide solar PV system Operations & Maintenance services. The information provided in the RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. USFS has not made a commitment to procure any of the services discussed, and release of this RFI should not be construed as such a commitment or as authorization to incur cost for which reimbursement would be required or sought. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned.