Inactive

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 mainten... 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 and off-grid photovoltaic (PV) systems located in five (5) locations throughout the State of California. 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. Off-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 off-grid photovoltaic (PV) system installations with battery back-up at five (5) locations throughout California. The USFS owns all of these PV systems and, thus, has responsibility for O&M. The USFS seeks to manage these on- and off-grid assets and maximize their potential benefit to each location. 3.0 Scope of Work The successful Contractor will be required to perform the following for both the on and off-grid PV systems: 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 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 and mitigation for water infiltration and site erosion. g. Recommend where necessary the 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. Recommend where necessary 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) as recommended by the manufacturer and O&M manuals. m. Inspection of all other equipment including but not limited to the site generators (off-grid), trailers (off-grid), and irradiance sensors (on-grid)) integral to the proper and efficient operation of the PV systems n. Claim for the repair or replacement of products manufactured by the equipment provider under unexpired warranties or for credits or price adjustments for such products, as a result of their failure to perform in accordance with the warranties made in connection with their sale. 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 National Forest • 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 Los Padres National Forest • 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 owns and operates five (5) off-grid PV systems located at: • Cleveland National Forest, Pine Hills Fire Station, 17158 Boulder Creek Rd; 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, California 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 Small or 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 (summary may be outlined in a capability statement). Additional Question for Companies Interested in Servicing Off-Grid PV System Locations 1. 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). 6.0 Responses Responses are due no later than April 2, 2021 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. 7.0 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.