The $7 billion would be expended for the purchase of energy over a period of 30 years or less from renewable energy plants that are constructed and operated by contractors using private sector financing.
"One year ago I authorized the Energy Initiatives Task Force (EITF). The announcement of this acquisition vehicle by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers demonstrates EITF's progress and the Army's commitment toward installation energy security, mission readiness and resilience," said Secretary of the Army John M. McHugh.
"We believe the Federal Renewable and Alternative Energy contract will provide the Army with an important means to achieve its goal of 1 GW of renewable energy projects by 2025," McHugh said.
Tonju Butler, the Corps' procurement contracting officer in Huntsville, Alabama said the agency to conduct a pre-proposal conference in late August.
Details on the conference and how to register will be released once plans are finalized.
In late February, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, issued a request for comments on the draft RFP.
The original 900 industry comments are posted on the ProjNet Website. Those comments can be accessed if a vendor registered and received a key to accessing that Website in the draft RFP.
"We have taken all the comments received from interested parties into consideration and answered them keeping in mind our regulations," Butler said. "The frequently asked questions with answers are available on www.fbo.gov."
It is the intent of the government only to purchase the energy that is produced, and not to acquire any generation assets. The contractors will finance, design, build, operate, own and maintain the energy plants.
The government will contract to purchase the power for up to 30 years in accordance with the terms and conditions stipulated in site or project specific agreements resulting from task orders awarded under multiple Indefinite Delivery (ID)/Indefinite Quantity (IQ) contracts.
Project locations may be on any federal property located within the US including Alaska, Hawaii, territories, provinces or other property under the control of the US government for the duration of contract performance.
"Contracts will be awarded to both large and small businesses according to four different renewable energy technologies: solar, wind, geothermal and biomass," said Sarah Tierney, the project's contracting specialist.
These contracts are one of the contract vehicles that will help support the EITF in its efforts to plan and execute a cost-effective portfolio of large scale renewable energy projects on Army installations by leveraging private sector financing.
By awarding the contracts, the Army will have a streamlined process to develop large scale renewable energy projects that uses private sector financing. This approach will help speed overall project development timelines to ensure the best value to the Army and private sector.
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