Energy Generation and Energy Storage Facility Humphreys Engineer Center (HEC) Alexandria, VA

1.1 This is a Request for Information (RFI) only and does not constitute a commitment, implied or otherwise, that the Department of the Army (“DA”) will issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) or take any procurement action in this matter in the future. Responses to this RFI are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Further, neither DA nor the United States will be responsible for any cost incurred in furnishing information in response to this RFI. See Section 4 for requested information.

 1.2 Humphreys Engineer Center (HEC) is a 583-acre U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Civil Works property. It is managed by and home to the Humphreys Engineer Center Support Activity (HECSA) which provides essential, integrated operational support to the Headquarters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (HQUSACE) and other USACE activities; ensures continuing viability of the HEC infrastructure; and executes unique USACE delegated responsibilities. It is also home to USACE and non-USACE tenants for which HECSA supplies a wide range of installation support. The property is adjacent to, but not part of, Fort Belvoir.

1.3 Fort Belvoir provides services to more than 245,000 military, defense civilians, retirees and families. It is home to more than 145 distinct mission partners including, U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command, the U.S. Army Cyber Command and elements of ten other Army Major Commands. Other tenants include 19 different agencies and direct reporting units of the Department of Army as well 8 elements of the U.S. Army Reserve and the Army National Guard. Fort Belvoir also contains a community hospital. The majority of Fort Belvoir’s electrical load is supplied by a substation located on HEC.

1.4 Project Overview: DA is interested in gathering information on the feasibility of seeking competitive proposals from private, public, or not-for-profit entities interested in leasing land at HEC to design, build, own, operate and maintain a fast-ramping, firm capacity, and black-start capable electrical generating asset. The asset must have a minimum capacity of at least 60 MW, and must be capable of operating in is landed mode (hereinafter the “Project”). 

During normal grid operations, the electricity generated from the Project would be sold by the Lessee to a third party off-taker selected by the Lessee. Instead of cash rent for the lease, the Lessee would provide in-kind consideration equal to or greater than the fair market value of the lease interest, in the form of contingency power and the requisite infrastructure to enable the provision of contingency power independent of the commercial electrical grid. Although the Project would be located at HEC, both HEC and Fort Belvoir would receive contingency power. See below for further details.

1.5 Contemplated Lease: DA anticipates the Project will proceed in two lease phases. The first phase will involve a study period to determine the impact and feasibility of the Project on the high-voltage electric transmission system managed by PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (PJM), the regional transmission organization. For this first phase, the Army would issue a short-term lease up to approximately 28 contiguous acres of land within HEC boundaries for up to three years to complete all studies required by PJM. In return for the lease of this land, the Lessee would be required to provide consideration not less than the fair market value of the lease interest. Instead of cash rent, the Lessee will provide in-kind consideration (“IKC”) in the form of an electricity bill credit or other similar non-cash consideration.

The second phase would include a long-term lease of approximately six (6) contiguous acres of land (down-selected from the study area) within HEC boundaries for the construction, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning of the Project (the “Parcel”). The duration of the lease must be for at least 25 years. Fort Belvoir would not contribute Army real property to the Project. Additional land would be identified at HEC and made available for a laydown area during construction. In return for the lease of this land, the Lessee would be required to provide consideration not less than the fair market value of the lease interest. Instead of cash rent, the Lessee will provide in-kind consideration (“IKC”) in the form of contingency power and the requisite infrastructure to provide contingency power to HEC and Fort Belvoir. The IKC provided by the Lessee must enable HEC and Fort Belvoir to island operations from the external electrical grid and continue to receive sufficient continuous electricity to operate the critical load for a minimum of 14 days. No cash consideration will be accepted for either lease phase. Both short-term and long-term leases will be executed in accordance with 10 U.S.C. § 2667.

1.6 Contemplated Project Operation

Normal Operations: Under DA’s proposed Project concept, during the times that HEC and Fort Belvoir are capable of receiving sufficient continuous electricity from the commercial electrical grid (“normal operations”), all power generated by the Project would go to the local electrical grid to be sold by the Lessee to a third-party off-taker. The Lessee would be solely responsible for identifying and securing off-take agreements, and financing, constructing, and operating any additional infrastructure required to facilitate the off-take. During normal operations, DA will continue to purchase electricity from its local regulated service provider, Dominion Virginia Power (DVP), and will not consume or purchase any electricity generated from the Project. 

Contingency Operations: During grid outages or disruptions and validated threat scenarios (collectively “Contingency Operations”), the Lessee will provide to HEC and Belvoir electricity generated from the Project. The Lessee will provide the infrastructure necessary to enable HEC and Fort Belvoir to receive and use such contingency power independent of the commercial grid (in “islanded mode”). The Lessee must provide HEC and Fort Belvoir with full and continuous operational capability to meet the minimum required load during Contingency Operations for a minimum of fourteen (14) days in islanded mode. For the purposes of this RFI, the term “validated threat” shall mean a situation in which the Army determines there is a threat to mission continuity and plans to electrically island the installation to ensure continuity of mission in the best interest of national security. 

For the purposes of the RFI, HEC and Fort Belvoir’s critical load that must be satisfied by contingency power is estimated to be approximately 45 MW peak, 32 MW average. Necessary infrastructure required to interconnect the Project to HEC and Fort Belvoir’s existing electrical distribution system and enable the provision of electricity during islanded mode may include controls, and distribution equipment, such as backup generators, energy storage, electric utility grid enhancements, microgrid controls, and other technologies determined necessary by Lessee to provide the indicated energy resilience requirements to HEC and Fort Belvoir. 

1.7 DA envisions that development of the Project would entail a well-planned and coordinated endeavor to utilize the Parcel in a manner that would be compatible with HEC and Fort Belvoir’s ongoing mission-related activities as described in 1.2 and 1.3, above. The Lessee would be required to comply with HEC and Fort Belvoir’s anti-terrorism force protection (“AT/FP”) and operations security requirements, as well as DA requirements for cybersecurity, point of origin, and Buy American Act requirements. DA will satisfy any required environmental studies for the Project, to include National Environmental Policy Act documentation.

1.8 DA intends to use the results of this RFI to determine the feasibility and level of interest for the Project as proposed by DA.

2. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

2.1 Location. HEC and Fort Belvoir are located in the greater Washington, D.C. area. 

2.2.1 Infrastructure. The Parcel is contained entirely within HEC. The Project may consider integration of the Parcel with HEC by either utilizing the existing infrastructure on HEC or by constructing new infrastructure to service the Parcel. There will be no interconnection of generated electricity to the DA-owned infrastructure, with the exception of interconnections necessary to provide generated electrical energy to DA in the event of Contingency Operations as required for the Project. The following infrastructure elements should be considered:

a. Utilities. 

(1) The Project should connect to the Belvoir substation located at HEC. The Belvoir substation has two incoming 34.5-kilovolt (kV) commercial feeds. The on-site distribution system is currently a radial system. Power is transmitted initially to Fort Belvoir and HEC via underground corridors. These corridors exit into substations for distribution to the different areas of the installation. From these substations, there is a mix of overhead and underground distribution pathways.

(2) The Lessee would be required to plan for providing utilities and infrastructure needs to the Parcel without disrupting current operations at HEC and Fort Belvoir. The Lessee may have access to DA utilities but would be required to pay for such utilities and enter into a contract with the appropriate installation. All energy generated from this Project, except any electrical energy provided to DA during Contingency Operations, must be delivered to off-taker(s) via either overhead or underground electric distribution lines, as agreed to by HEC and Fort Belvoir, which interconnect to substations not located on DA land, at the Lessee’s expense.

b. Physical/Operational Security. The Lessee would be required to incorporate applicable installation physical and operational security measures, such as the HECSA and Fort Belvoir’s AT/FP requirements discussed below. In addition, the Lessee would be required to provide fencing to secure the Parcel and/or any associated improvements.

(1) Although leases entered into under the authority of 10 U.S.C. § 2667 are not subject to either the Federal Acquisition Regulation or the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement, the Secretary of the Army has determined, pursuant to 10 U.S.C. § 2667(a), that the inclusion of the mandatory requirements set forth in the list contained in Attachment C (“DA Mandatory Requirements”) promote the national defense, and therefore would be required in the lease agreement. These DA Mandatory Requirements would be part of the lease agreement, and thus would be binding upon the selected lessee, or any subsequently approved lessee successors in interest or assigns.

(2) As noted above, the Lessee will be required to comply with specific requirements for AT/FP and operations security as established by HECSA and Fort Belvoir, and which may be amended from time to time. Current antiterrorism and operations security requirements are included in Attachment D (“Current Anti-Terrorism and Operations Security Requirements”).

(3) The Lessee would also be required to comply with and implement, as applicable, specific requirements for cybersecurity as established by DA, and as may be amended from time to time. All network-enabled equipment attached to the distribution system may be required to meet all risk management framework (RMF) requirements and achieve authority to operate (ATO) status as part of the commissioning process, if applicable. Current cybersecurity and RMF requirements are included in Attachment E (“Current Cybersecurity Requirements”).

c. Design Considerations. The Lessee would be required to comply with applicable HEC and Fort Belvoir Appearance Plans, Development Plans, and be context sensitive with the system construction. (i.e., blend with the surrounding area). Additional lay-down area of approximately 15 acres could be provided within the Installation to be utilized during construction.

d. Interconnection. DVP is the local electric utility provider for HEC and Fort Belvoir. The Lessee would be responsible at its sole cost for any studies required to connect the Project electric generation and energy storage to off-taker(s) and any associated fees for utility interconnection, including the cost of entering into a three (3) year lease with DA for completing the required PJM interconnection study. Consideration equal to or greater than the fair market value of the lease interest must be provided in-kind during this three (3) year period; cash rent cannot be accepted.

3. RESPONDING TO THIS RFI

3.1 The following persons (including entities) responding to this RFI are ineligible to participate in this RFI if they are: (a) any person that has been debarred or suspended from doing business with DA; (b) any person that is listed on the most current “Excluded Parties List System” published at , as updated from time to time; (c) any person who poses a security or safety risk, as determined by the Secretary of State, including but not limited to any person who either represents a country, or is a member of or provides political, financial, or military support to a group, that is listed in the most current “Patterns of Global Terrorism” report issued by the Secretary of State in compliance with 22 U.S.C. § 2656f, available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington D.C. 20402 and also available at ; (d) governments of a terrorist country; and (e) any person who is subject to a criminal indictment or information for a felony in any U.S. court. DA reserves the right to require any participant in the Project to confirm that it is not ineligible under the foregoing criteria.

3.2 RFI responses must include:

a. Organization name, legal form of organization (i.e., corporation, limited liability company), the state where it is organized or incorporated, and state(s) where authorized to do business;

b. Description of organization capability and relevant past performance; 

c. Name of the primary point of contact for the response;

d. Business title;

e. Email address;

f. Phone;

g. Identification of other key individuals who collaborated on the RFI response; and

h. A brief summary (no more than two pages single space with one (1) inch margins) description of previous relevant experience.

4. DA REQUESTED INFORMATION

4.1 DA is requesting responses to the following questions from entities interested in developing the above described Project at HEC: 

a. Please explain your organization’s approach to financing the Project including a description of the organization’s strategy to obtain financing, including anticipated costs, discussion of the risks, etc. In addition please provide responses to the following:

(1) What would be the proposed sources of funding (i.e., aggregate amount and type)?

(2) What is the estimated amount of time needed to obtain financing?

b. Does your organization see an off-take market for the energy produced by the Project, and if so, what is the likely timing for entering into off-take agreements?

c. How would your organization ensure that HEC and Fort Belvoir would receive sufficient secure, uninterruptable power to operate the specified critical load for a minimum of fourteen (14) days during Contingency Operations? Is the approach of providing such power independent of the commercial electrical grid (see Para 1.6) feasible without additional DA expenditure? 

d. Describe how long it would take to complete the construction of the project after execution of the long-term lease. Describe major milestones (e.g., permits, off-take agreements, etc.), their timing, and any potential issues or impediments.

e. Describe the proposed business concept for the Project, including: (i) approximate size, acreage required, and anticipated generating capacity of the system; (ii) recommended technology; and (iii) proposed IKC that would provide contingency power for HEC and Fort Belvoir.

f. If DA issued an RFP for the Project, would your organization submit a responsive proposal? Responsive proposals to an RFP would be expected to address, at a minimum: (i) size, acreage required, and generating capacity of the system; (ii) off-take and/or ancillary services arrangement; (iii) transmission access and capacity capabilities and constraints; (iv) a discussion of the economic viability of the proposed approach; (v) use of the electrical generating asset to provide IKC in the form of contingency power for HEC and Fort Belvoir; and (vi) description of approach to project financing.

g. If the lease were awarded to your organization, would your organization be prepared to pay for all studies and fees related to the PJM interconnection requirements without DA reimbursement? 

h. If your organization were selected to develop the Project, would your organization be prepared to enter into a separate three (3) year lease at HEC to satisfy PJM’s site control requirement for the PJM interconnection study? If so, what type of IKC can your organization provide in lieu of cash rent for the 3-year lease?

i. If your organization were selected to develop the Project, would your organization need access to the Parcel for site preparation prior to the end of the above-mentioned three (3) lease? If so, what type of site preparation would you anticipate engaging in and for what purposes?

5. MISCELLANEOUS TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLICABLE TO THIS RFI

5.1 RFI responses must not exceed 15 pages in length. Use single-spaced, 12-point, Times New Roman font, 1 inch margins. The following file naming convention should be used: DA_RFI__name.doc. For example: Solar Inc. would name its file DA_RFI_Solar_Inc.doc. Authorized file formats include: Adobe Acrobat versions *** (.pdf) Microsoft Word versions *** (.doc) and Microsoft Excel versions *** (.xls).

5.2 Although all comments received will be carefully reviewed and considered for inclusion in any possible later action, DA makes no commitment to include any particular recommendations. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the review.

5.3 No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released, it will be published on FedBizOpps. It is the responsibility of potential offerors to monitor this site for the release of any solicitation or synopsis.

5.4 Response Submission Deadline:
Responses to this RFI must be submitted no later than 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time, on November 02, 2018. RFI submissions will be accepted as email attachments only. All responses must be sent to: Marcia.A.DeVille@usace.army.mil, with “DA RFI Response” in the subject line. An email confirmation of receipt from DA will be sent within a one-week period to the designated point of contact.

5.5 Point of Contact for Inquiries and Submissions. Inquiries regarding this proposal may be directed to Marcia.A.DeVille@usace.army.mil with “DA RFI Inquiry” in the subject line. Inquiries must be received no later than 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time, on November 02, 2018. Responses to all inquiries received by this deadline will be posted electronically and made publicly available on FedBizOpps.

5.6 Disclaimer. DA will not publicly disclose proprietary information obtained as a result of this RFI. To the full extent that it is protected by law and regulations, information identified by a respondent as Proprietary or Confidential will be kept confidential.

5.7 Attachments. The following documents are attached to this RFI:

a. ATTACHMENT A: MAP DELINEATING THE PARCEL;
b. ATTACHMENT B: 10 U.S.C. § 2667;
c. ATTACHMENT C: DA MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS;
d. ATTACHMENT D: ANTI-TERRORISM AND OPERATIONS SECURITY REQUIREMENTS; and
e. ATTACHMENT E: CYBERSECURITY REQUIREMENTS.