Photovoltaic (PV) Modeled Versus Measured Performance Evaluations
(i) This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.6 as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. (ii) The solicitation number is SB1341-20-RQ-02943 and the solicitation is issued as a Request for Quotation (RFQ) on a competitive basis. This acquisition is for a commercial item or service and is conducted under the authority of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13—Simplified Acquisition Procedures; and FAR Part 12—Acquisition of Commercial Items. A Fixed-Price type of contract is contemplated for any resulting contract entered into as a result of this solicitation. (iii) The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect tough Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) Number/Effective Date: 2020-08 / 08-13-2020. (iv) The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 541990 -- All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services with associated business size standard $16.5 million. This requirement is released with a Small Business Set-Aside restriction applicable. (v) Background: This requirement is for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The Heat Transfer and Alternative Energy Systems Group at NIST provides measurement services and standard reference materials to assess the thermal performance of energy production systems. NIST has previously collected a sizeable dataset consisting of short-term characterization measurements on tee solar modules and long-term field measurements on several other solar modules. (vi) Purpose: The purpose of this acquisition is to obtain contractor services to analyze these datasets to assess the predictive modeling and uncertainties of solar modules and arrays field performance. Statement of Work: Independently and not as an agent of the Government, the Contractor shall furnish all the necessary services, qualified personnel, material, equipment, and facilities, not otherwise provided by the Government as needed to perform the work statement. See the attached Statement of Work for additional detail. SECTION 508—Electronic and Information Technology Standards: Contractor will not be involved in EIT Standards. No EIT is anticipated to be generated as a result of this requirement. (vii) The Government anticipates award of a firm fixed-price purchase order for this acquisition. The Period of Performance shall become effective on October 1, 2020 tough September 30, 2021. INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS The Offeror’s quotation shall be submitted electronically via email and shall consist of two volumes as detailed below. Each quotation volume shall include the Offeror’s name, DUNS number, and point of contact information in a cover page, header/footer, or other easily identified location. The Contracting Officer intends to award a purchase order without discussions but reserves the right to enter into discussions if in the best interest of the Government. Volume 1: Technical Response This volume shall contain the Offeror’s technical response. The technical response (not including table of contents) shall not exceed fifteen (15) single sided pages. Text shall be no less than 12-point Arial or otherwise reasonably legible font in read-only Microsoft Word or searchable Adobe PDF format. The technical response shall include the name, title, phone number, and email address of the Offeror’s primary point of contact and the individual authorized to negotiate on behalf of the Offeror (if negotiations are determined to be necessary). The technical response shall include a narrative description of the Offeror’s technical capability and approach, and of the proposed key personnel (including the CV/resumes of proposed key personnel). 1. Technical Capability and Approach: Offerors shall describe their technical approach to completing the SOW requirements. In doing so, the offeror shall provide evidence of sufficient planning to show that the work will be accomplished and how it will be accomplished within time and other constraints specified in the SOW or as applicable. The technical approach shall demonstrate the offeror’s planned execution of the project, and its ability and plan to address anticipated potential problem areas. The Offeror shall utilize all available resources to include controlling the execution of assigned activities, tasks, sub-tasks, monitoring progress, status reporting, resolving critical issues and/or mitigating risks and fulfilling all delivery requirements. The offeror shall provide any commentary necessary to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the SOW requirements and their challenges, and demonstrate that they have the capabilities and resources necessary to complete the requirements successfully. 2. Key Personnel: Offerors shall identify its proposed key personnel and demonstrate why the proposed key personnel are qualified to successfully perform this work. The offeror shall submit resumes/CVs of proposed Key Personnel describing professional experience and qualifications related to the subject requirement. Specific and specialized relevant experience, knowledge, technical background, skills, abilities, and education of Key Personnel shall be clearly documented. Additionally, the offeror shall provide evidence of the key personnel’s relevant professional experience in the past five (5) years completing work of similar size, scope and complexity as the work described in the SOW. Offerors shall provide at least tee (3) specific examples of work that relate to the requirements described in the SOW that have been completed by the proposed key personnel in the past five (5) years. If applicable, please indicate if the comparable work assignments were performed under a federal or commercial grant, purchase order or contract. If so, indicate contract number and agency with which contracted. Publications, journal articles or presentations at scientific conferences, and/or substantive participation on any pertinent technical or standards committees may be included as attachments and not count toward the page limit. Volume 2: Price Quotation This volume shall contain the Offeror’s price quotation in read-only Microsoft Excel format, or in searchable PDF format. All figures must be rounded to the nearest hundredth. Price quotations shall be submitted on a firm fixed price basis in accordance with the contract line item numbering structure identified in this solicitation. Quotations shall be valid for 90 days after solicitation close. To assist the Government in evaluating firm fixed price quotations, the offeror shall provide a breakdown of the proposed labor categories to be used and estimated hours per labor category. Offerors shall include estimated hourly rates and estimated hours per labor category, to demonstrate how the total firm-fixed price was derived. Offerors shall also include a proposed fixed-price payment schedule based on requirement milestones/deliverables. For the payment schedule to be acceptable, at a minimum, every payment must be tied to a deliverable or benefit that the Government receives as a result of contractor performance. CONTRACT LINE ITEM STRUCTURE: Responsible Offerors shall provide pricing for the following line items: LINE ITEM 001: Provide a written report of the IEC 61853-calibrated diode-based model in accordance with the attached Statement of Work – Task 01. LINE ITEM 002: Provide a written report of the IEC 61853- Part 3 algorithm in accordance with the attached Statement of Work – Task 02. LINE ITEM 003: Provide a written report summarizing task work results in accordance with the attached Statement of Work – Task 03. EVALUATION CRITERIA AND BASIS FOR AWARD: Responses received to this RFQ will be evaluated on a Trade-Off basis. The award will be made on a competitive best value basis, using “trade-off” among price-cost and non-price-cost factors. The Government may elect to award to other than the lowest priced offeror, or other than the offeror with the highest rated non-price-cost proposal. In either case, a tradeoff will be conducted. The Government reserves such right of flexibility in conducting the evaluation as necessary to assure an award with the contractor providing the best value to the government. Each quotation will be evaluated in strict conformity with the evaluation factors, utilizing written critiques. The evaluation will be based upon the demonstrated capabilities of the prospective contractor in relation to the needs of the project as set forth in the RFQ. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers. Non-price factors A and B are listed in descending order of importance: A) Technical Capability & Approach: The Government will evaluate the Offeror’s knowledge and understanding of the SOW requirements, its ability to adequately describe a successful technical approach, identify problems and potential challenges, and demonstrate how all contract requirements will be met, including possessing adequate resources necessary to perform the work statement and be fully capable to perform the work specified therein. The Government will consider the extent to which the Offeror has demonstrated the likelihood of the success of its technical approach. B) Key Personnel The Government will evaluate the experience and qualifications of the proposed key personnel and the extent to which they demonstrate knowledge, technical background, qualifications and professional experience relevant to the requirements of the work statement. C) Price: Price evaluation will determine whether the proposed prices are complete and reasonable in relation to the RFQ requirements. Price evaluation will also determine whether the proposed level of effort is reasonable in relation to the RFQ requirements. Offerors submitting a response must provide a completed Firm-Fixed-Price Quote to be evaluated and considered for award. Price will be evaluated to determine the extent to which the pricing is fair and reasonable. Basic cost and price information in the Offerors’ quote must contain sufficient information to allow the Government to perform a basic analysis of the reasonableness of the Offeror to supply the required services. For a price to be reasonable, it must represent a price to the government that a prudent person would pay when consideration is given to prices in the market. (viii) The provision at FAR 52.252-1, Solicitation Provisions Incorporated by Reference (Feb 1998), applies to this acquisition. This solicitation incorporates one or more solicitation provisions by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. The offeror is cautioned that the listed provisions may include blocks that must be completed by the offeror and submitted with its quotation or offer. In lieu of submitting the full text of those provisions, the offeror may identify the provision by paragraph identifier and provide the appropriate information with its quotation or offer. Also, the full text of a solicitation provision may be accessed electronically at these addresses: https://www.acquisition.gov/?q=browsefar http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title48/48cfrv5_02.tpl (End of provision) The following provisions apply to this acquisition and are incorporated by reference: • FAR 52.203-18, Prohibition on Contracting with Entities that Require Certain Internal Confidentiality Agreements or Statements-Representation (Jan 2017) • FAR 52.204-7, System for Award Management (Oct 2018) • FAR 52.204-16, Commercial and Government Entity Code Reporting (Jul 2016) • FAR 52.204-17, Ownership or Control of Offeror (Jul 2016) • FAR 52.209-2, Prohibition on Contracting with Inverted Domestic Corporations-Representation (Nov 2015) • FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Items (Oct 2018) • FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items (Oct 2018) The clause at FAR 52.252-2, Clauses Incorporated by Reference (Feb 1998), applies to this acquisition. This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. Also, the full text of a clause may be accessed electronically at these addresses: https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title48/48cfrv5_02.tpl (End of clause) The following clauses apply to this acquisition and are incorporated by reference: • FAR 52.204-13, System for Award Management Maintenance (Oct 2018) • FAR 52.204-18, Commercial and Government Entity Code Maintenance (Jul 2016) • FAR 52-204-19, Incorporation by Reference of Representations and Certifications (Dec 2014) • FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions--Commercial Items (Oct 2018) • FAR 52.232-39, Availability of Funds for the Next Fiscal Year (Apr 1984) The provisions of FAR clause at 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders—Commercial Items (AUG 2019) is applicable to this solicitation: 52.219-28, Post-Award Small Business Program Rerepresentation (May 2020) 52.222-3 Convict Labor (June 2003) 52.222-19 Child Labor-Cooperation With Authorities and Remedies (Jan 2020) 52.222-21 Prohibition of Segregated Facilities (Apr 2015) 52.222-26 Equal Opportunity (Sep 2016) 52.222-36 Equal Opportunity for Workers With Disabilities (Jun 2020) 52.222-50 Combating Trafficking in Persons (Jan 2019) 52.223-18 Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging While Driving (Jun 2020) 52.225-13, Restrictions on certain foreign purchases (Jun 2008) 52.232-33 Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-- System for Award Management (Oct 2018) The following provisions apply to this acquisition and are incorporated as an attachment, and MUST be completed and submitted with any response to this RFQ: • FAR 52.204-20 Predecessor of Offeror (AUG 2020) • FAR 52.204-24, Representation Regarding Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment (Dec 2019) • FAR 52.204-26, Covered Telecommunications Equipment or Services-Representation (Dec 2019) • FAR 52.209-11, Representation by Corporations Regarding Delinquent Tax Liability or a Felony Conviction under any Federal Law (Feb 2016) (ix) The provision at FAR clause 52.212-2, Evaluation – Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. Quotations shall be evaluated against two (2) non-price evaluation factors and price. Non-price factors include the following in descending order of importance: 1) Technical Capability, and 2) Professional Expertise. Non-price factors when combined shall be considered more important than Price. (x) The Offerors to include a completed copy of the provision at FAR clause 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items, with its offer. (xi) The clause at FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. (xii) The clause at FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition and is incorporated by reference. (xiii) The provision at CAR 1352.233-70 AGENCY PROTESTS (APR 2010) applies to this acquisition and incorporated in full text: An agency protest may be filed with either (1) the Contracting Officer, or (2) at a level above the Contracting Officer, with the agency Protest Decision Authority. See 64 Fed. Reg. 16,651 (April 6, 1999). Agency protests filed with the Contracting Officer shall be sent to the following address: NIST/ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT DIVISION ATTN: KEITH BUBAR, CONTRACTING OFFICER 100 Bureau Drive, MS 1640 Gaithersburg, MD 20899 Agency protests filed with the Protest Decision Authority shall be sent to the following address: NIST/ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT DIVISION ATTN: HEAD OF THE CONTRACTING OFFICE (HCO) 100 Bureau Drive, MS 1640 Gaithersburg, MD 20899 A complete copy of all agency protest, including all attachments, shall be served upon the Contract Law Division of the Office of the General Counsel within one day of filing a protest with either the Contracting Officer or the Protest Decision Authority. Service upon the Contract law Division shall be made as follows: U.S. Department of Commerce Office of the General Counsel Chief, Contract Law Division Room 5893 Herbert C. Hoover Building 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20230 FAX: (202) 482-5858 (End of Provision) (xiv) The provision at CAR 1352.233-71 GAO AND COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS PROTESTS (APR 2010) is applicable to this solicitation and incorporated in full text. (a) A protest may be filed with either the Government Accountability Office (GAO) or the Court of Federal Claims unless an agency protest has been filed. (b) A complete copy of all GAO or Court of Federal Claims protests, including all attachments, shall be served upon (i) the Contracting Officer, and (ii) the Contract Law Division of the Office of the General Counsel, within one day of filing a protest with either GAO or the Court of Federal Claims. (c) Service upon the Contract Law Division shall be made as follows: U.S. Department of Commerce Office of the General Counsel Chief, Contract Law Division Room 5893 Herbert C. Hoover Building 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20230. FAX: (202) 482-5858 (End of Provision) (xv) The following provisions and clauses apply to this acquisition and are hereby incorporated by reference. All CAR clauses may be viewed at http://www.ecfr.gov 1352.201-70 – Contracting Officers Authority 1352.209-73 – Compliance with the Laws (APR 2010) 1352.209-74 – Organizational Conflict of Interest 1352.246-70 – Place of Acceptance (a) The Contracting Officer or the duly authorized representative will accept supplies and services to be provided under this contract. (b) The place of acceptance will be: 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD. 20899 NIST LOCAL 54 – BILLING INSTRUCTIONS NIST requires that Invoice/Voucher submissions are sent electronically via email to INVOICE@NIST.GOV. Each Invoice or Voucher submitted shall include the following: (1) Contract number; (2) Contractor name and address; (3) Unique entity identifier (see www.sam.gov for the designated entity for establishing unique entity identifiers); (4) Date of invoice; (5) Invoice number; (6) Amount of invoice and cumulative amount invoiced to-date; (7) Contract Line Item Number (CLIN); (8) Description, quantity, unit of measure, unit price, and extended price of supplies/services delivered; (9) Prompt payment discount terms, if offered; and (10) Any other information or documentation required by the contract. (End of Clause) NIST LOCAL 53 – CONTRACT PERFORMANCE DURING CHANGES IN NIST OPERATING STATUS Unless otherwise stated in the contract terms and conditions, normal days of business operation are Monday tough Friday, excluding Federal Holidays. However, toughout the contract period of performance, there may be circumstances beyond the control of the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), that will impact normal days of business operation, such as inclement weather, power outages, etc. In circumstances such as these, the Contractor must call the appropriate NIST campus status line to verify the operating status: Gaithersburg Campus Operating Status Line: (301) 975-8000 (800) 437-4385 x8000 (toll free) Boulder Campus Operating Status Line: (303) 497-4000 During a lapse in appropriation, access to Government facilities and resources, including equipment and systems, will be limited to excepted personnel for both Federal employees and Contractor personnel. If performance of the contract is onsite and/or requires Government interaction, unless you have been, or are notified that you are to work under an excepted status, you will automatically enter a temporary work stoppage. The work stoppage shall remain in effect until the lapse is resolved and notification is provided via the NIST website at https://www.nist.gov/ and/or the NIST operating status lines. Additionally, Contractors are encouraged to monitor public broadcasts or the Office of Personnel Management’s website at www.opm.gov for the Federal Government operating status. NIST will provide notification to all contractors that are determined to have excepted status. All excepted contractors are required to continue performance and communicate with the appointed Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) for further guidance, or NIST Contracting Officer if a COR is not appointed. Contractors with supply or service contracts that are fully funded at the time of contract award and do not require access to Government facilities, resources, or active administration by Government personnel in a manner that would cause the government to incur additional obligations during the lapse in appropriation may continue performance. (End of Clause) (xvi) The following additional contract requirement(s) or terms and conditions as determined by the contracting officer are necessary for this acquisition and consistent with customary commercial practices. There are no additional contract requirement(s) or terms and conditions applicable to this acquisition. (xvii) The Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) are not applicable to this requirement. (xviii) Responses to this solicitation must include clear and convincing evidence of the offeror’s capability of fulfilling the requirement as it relates to the technical evaluation criteria. The Dun & Bradstreet Number (DUNS), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size must be included in the response. All offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov and the offeror representation. (xix) Offerors must submit all questions concerning this solicitation in writing to hunter.tjugum@nist.gov. Questions should be received no later than FIVE (5) calendar days after the issuance date of this solicitation. Any responses to questions will be made in writing, without identification of the questioner, and will be included in an amendment to the solicitation. Even if provided in other form, only the question responses included in the amendment to the solicitation will govern performance of the contract. All quotations must be received no later than the date specified in this announcement. Late responses will not be accepted. All responses must reference the subject solicitation number. Responses must be submitted electronically to hunter.tjugum@nist.gov. Facsimile responses will not be accepted. For information regarding this solicitation, contact Hunter Tjugum by email at hunter.tjugum@nist.gov or by phone at 301-975-2015.
SB1341-20-RQ-02943 Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology
8/19/20, 3:27 PM