1-RFI 091-25-CW Clean Power Generation and Storage for Electric Utility Final.pdf

Rev. 7/2025 1

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

RFI-091-25-CW

Clean Power Generation and Energy Storage for Electric Utility Purchasing Agent: Catrina Wilson Email: Catrina.Wilson@talgov.com

Phone: 850-891-8282

1. INTRODUCTION

This request is for information only to assist the City of Tallahassee (City) in determining how best to fulfill the requirements described herein. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a formal solicitation or a promise to issue a solicitation in the future. This request for information does not commit the City to contract for or purchase any supply or service.

Should the City determine to proceed with a solicitation based on the responses to this RFI, the solicitation to be issued may be either a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) or Invitation for Bid (IFB) to be handled in accordance with City purchasing policies and procedures.

Submission of a response to this RFI will not prevent your participation in a future competitive solicitation. Depending on the responses received, the City may request a follow up meeting, demonstration, or discussion with some or all vendors, as solely determined by the City, that respond to this RFI.

Vendors must identify any portion of its submittal for which they seek confidentiality protections as allowed by Florida law. If you have questions about this RFI or the process, please contact the Purchasing Agent.

2. PURPOSE

The City seeks to learn about vendors and their capability to construct, provide, and/or sell clean, renewable energy to the City through a variety of means, technologies, locations, and quantities. For this RFI, vendors do not need to have a viable project for the City, e.g., secured land options for development. Clean, renewable energy includes solar, energy storage, wind, hydrogen, and other carbon-neutral or renewable resources.

The City owns, operates and maintains an electric generation, transmission, and distribution system that supplies electric power in and around the corporate limits of the City for over 120,000 customer accounts. The City is Florida's fourth largest municipally owned electric utility and thirtieth largest in the United States. Nearly five percent of the community’s energy needs is currently met through a power purchase agreement for 62 MW of solar, with the balance coming from the City’s natural gas-fired generation fleet.

One of the City’s interim clean energy goals is to add at least 120 MW (alternating current) of clean, renewable energy supply capacity to its electric grid by 2030. The City anticipates achieving this through a variety of community-scale projects (100 kW to 2.2 MW) and utility-scale projects (2.2 MW to 74.9 MW). Additionally, the City anticipates considering any or all of

Rev. 7/2025 2 the following when drafting a solicitation for clean, renewable energy supply:

• Ownership type, including:

o Build, own, and operate a generator and sell resulting power to the City via a

Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), o Design, build and sell power generator to the City, and o Long-term, scheduled wholesale energy purchase delivered via City’s transmission ties with Duke Energy Florida (DEF), Southern Company (Southern).

• Resource type, including the following. Resources must be fully dispatchable by the City via automated generation control (AGC):

o Renewable energy, o Renewable energy paired with energy storage* (located on same site behind common interconnection point), o Grid charged energy storage, and o Other clean energy technologies.

• Grid service type, including:

o Assist in the balancing of intermittent or non-dispatchable resources to meet the

City’s Balancing Authority (BA) requirements, o Improve the City’s overall system dispatch economics, o Provide firm or non-firm capacity, o Provide firm or non-firm energy, and o Provide environmental attributes, such as Renewable Energy Credits (RECs), Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs), etc.

“Turn-key” projects or alternative development structures can be considered.

* Energy storage can include battery energy storage systems, compressed air energy storage, flow battery systems, mechanical energy storage systems, and thermal energy storage systems, and others.

3. SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

The proposed time schedule as related to this RFI is as follows. (Dates and times are subject to change):

Release of Request for Information Thursday, July 10, 2025

Deadline to Submit Clarifying Questions Thursday, July 17, 2025 @

2:30 PM

Answers to Clarifying Questions Received – (responded to by the City as an Addendum) on or about: Thursday, July 24, 2025

Response Submission Deadline Friday, August 15, 2025 @

2:30 PM

Vendor Discussions September-October, 2025

* Vendor discussions will be arranged as needed to clarify and/or gather more information.

Please note that only Vendors that submit a response may be requested to have a discussion with City staff.

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4. BACKGROUND

Through its Clean Energy Resolution, the City Commission of Tallahassee is committed to transitioning the community to a 100% net clean, renewable energy future by 2050. Recently, the City Electric & Gas Utility conducted an Energy Integrated Resource Plan (EIRP), which helped inform the City’s Clean Energy Plan. The Clean Energy Plan, composed of 87 potential actions organized into seven broad policy goals, is designed to guide the City’s clean energy efforts through 2030. The near-term activities focus on increasing solar energy production while partnering with local universities and research firms to promote research and development (R&D) in other emerging clean energy technologies and fuel sources. For additional background details, see Exhibit A – City of Tallahassee Electric Utility Information/System Description.

5. RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS

Limit your response to 20 pages or less. Your RFI response should contain the following;

however, partial responses accepted:

SECTION 1 (one page)

Executive Summary

Company Name Address

FEIN

Contact Information

Name of the individual who will act as primary point of contact for inquiries Contact Person’s Telephone Number Contact Person’s Email Address

Summary

Please provide in brief, concise terms, a summary level description of:

Your understanding of the contents of the RFI, and Your company, its capabilities, and its team.

SECTION 2 (up to 15 pages)

Statement of Interest, Capabilities, and Approach

Based on the project information provided to date, briefly describe the approach you would recommend for this project and why.

In addition, describe the following:

• Project experience with:

o permitting (including environmental), o site preparation, o design, o construction and installation, o interconnection, o operation and maintenance, o real estate acquisition and/or leases, property taxes, assessments and other evaluations that may be imposed.

• Total MW of clean, renewable resources in commercial operation, that were developed by your company.

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• Company’s experience in engaging/communicating with the surrounding community and key stakeholders prior to, during, and after project construction.

• Relevant projects worked on in the last five (5) years including name, location, date of completion, size of project and dollar value.

• Company’s experience in Florida, with locations and size of any resources in Florida.

• Project Management, Engineering and Construction Management companies the firm has worked with in last five years, if any.

• Your understanding of electric utility system operation within the constraints of NERC reliability requirements, if any.

• Experience in Owning and Operating clean energy resources, if any.

• Any joint ventures that may be proposed for this project.

• Project Financing experience, including evidence of financial strength/stability and good credit rating.

• Your procurement strategy and how you manage potential supply-chain constraints and disruptions.

• General approach and method of how work is performed, e.g., sample workflow that illustrates ability to logically plan and complete a project.

SECTION 3 (up to 4 pages)

Evaluative Comments

Please provide evaluative comments on the information outlined in Section 2 – Purpose and Exhibit A – City of Tallahassee Electric Utility Information/System Description.

Suggestions or Advice Please provide any suggestions or advice regarding the design, implementation, management, technology, etc. of this contemplated project.

Clarifications or Additional Details

Please provide any additional information or clarification needed by prospective vendors to prepare a comprehensive proposal in the future.

6. SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION

The City of Tallahassee’s Procurement Portal, hosted in Bonfire, is used for the administration of the competitive solicitation process and RFIs. There is no charge to register and download the RFI from Bonfire.

Before you begin, please watch this 5-minute video on Vendor Registration and Submission.

Please follow this link for step-by-step instructions on how to register. For answers to commonly asked questions please refer to Vendor Registration – Support

You may also contact the Bonfire support team at support@gobonfire.com or by calling 1-800- 354-8010.

Each of the following steps in Bonfire MUST be completed in order to submit a response:

1. Login to https://talgov.bonfirehub.com/

2. Select the Open Public Opportunities Tab

3. On the Solicitation, click “View Opportunity” to view details.

4. Select Log in / Register

5. If you have not yet registered, select New Vendor Registration/Create your Free Bonfire

Account. If you are already registered, select Login and enter your email address and password.

https://talgov.bonfirehub.com/portal/?tab=openOpportunities https://vendorsupport.gobonfire.com/hc/en-us/articles/6796500613655-Vendor-Registration-and-Submission-VIDEOprocess https://vendorsupport.gobonfire.com/hc/en-us/articles/15646869029783-Vendor-Registration#h_68683997-7b73-4224-85b8-deeeda003fe3 https://vendorsupport.gobonfire.com/hc/en-us/categories/6796320852247 mailto:support@gobonfire.com https://talgov.bonfirehub.com/

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6. Upload all required documents and enter all requested information.

7. The final step in submitting a response involves an acknowledgement that the information and documents entered into Bonfire are accurate and represent the supplier’s actual response, proposal, quote or bid. Click the checkbox labelled “I understand that I can’t change any of the submission details or documents once the project closes.”

Acknowledgement is registered in Bonfire when the supplier clicks the button labelled SUBMIT & FINALIZE MY SUBMISSION. Bonfire will post a notice that the offer has been received. This notice from Bonfire MUST be recorded prior to the closing date and time or the response will be considered late. Contact the Buyer/Purchasing Agent if your response is late.

7. OUTCOME

Participation in this RFI process is optional and is not required in order to respond to any subsequent procurement. Neither the City of Tallahassee nor any interested party has any obligation under this RFI, and the City does not guarantee any formal solicitation or contract will be generated based on this RFI. The City is not liable for any cost incurred by vendors in replying to this RFI.

The City thanks you in advance for your thoughtful response.

[End of Sections]

Rev. 7/2025 6

EXHIBIT A

CITY OF TALLAHASSEE – ELECTRIC UTILITY

INFORMATION/SYSTEM DESCRIPTION

Purpose: This document provides additional system information and background context to help guide responses to this RFI.

1. Overview

City Of Tallahassee (City) owns, operates and maintains and electric generation, transmission, and distribution system that supplies electric power in and around the corporate limits of the City. The City is Florida's fourth largest municipally owned electric utility and the thirtieth largest in the United States. City Of Tallahassee currently serves over 120,000 electric accounts, within the corporate limits of Tallahassee and certain unincorporated areas of Leon County.

The governing body of City consists of four elected City Commissioners and an elected Mayor. The City is not subject to regulation by the Florida Public Service Commission except for certain environmental, health and electric safety issues, energy conservation, power plant and transmission line siting, territorial, and electric rate structure matters.

The City’s electric system includes generation, transmission, interconnection and distribution facilities. The wholly-owned generating facilities are located on three plant sites: 1) the Hopkins Generating Station, located in western Leon County, 2) the Purdom Power Plant, located in Wakulla County, and 3) the Substation 12 Distributed Generation Facility, located in Leon County. In addition, 2 solar photovoltaic facilities (solar farms) not owned by the City (energy is delivered under Purchased Power Agreements) are connected to the City’s electric system. “Solar Farm 1” is 20 MW and connected to the 12.4 kV distribution system. “Solar Farm 4” is 42 MW and connected to the 230 kV transmission system. Both solar farms are located on land leased from the Tallahassee International Airport (TLH).

The City of Tallahassee has direct interconnections with Duke Energy Florida and Georgia Power Company. The City participates in Wholesale energy transactions in the hourly, day-ahead and long contracting.

The City employs various tools for the purposes of system evaluation. These include the “Portfolio Optimization” production costing program, and the PSSE, TARA, and PSCAD transmission analysis models. Respondents may be asked to conduct studies with their own models, or to provide guidance to, and review results of, City staff using the City’s own models.

Additional useful information about the City and the Electric & Gas Utility can be found online at:

https://www.talgov.com/you/you-electric and in the City’s 2025 Ten Year Site Plan at:

https://www.talgov.com/Uploads/Public/Documents/you/tysp_cotu.pdf.

2. Clean Energy Plan

In 2019, the City Commission of Tallahassee adopted the Clean Energy Resolution that committed to transitioning Tallahassee to a 100% net clean, renewable energy future by 2050. Since then, an Energy Integrated Resource Plan (EIRP) was conducted, which helped form a Clean Energy Plan.

The Clean Energy Plan, composed of 87 potential actions organized into seven broad policy goals, https://www.talgov.com/you/you-electric https://www.talgov.com/Uploads/Public/Documents/you/tysp_cotu.pdf

Rev. 7/2025 7 is designed to guide the City’s clean energy efforts over the near term (5-7 years). The near-term efforts focus on increasing solar energy production while partnering with local universities and research firms to promote research and development (R&D) in other emerging clean energy technologies and fuel sources. For more information, visit: https://www.talgov.com/page/cep.

3. System constraints:

Due to the small size of the City’s electric service territory, there is a lack of geographical diversity with respect to existing renewable (solar) generation on the TAL System. This fact, combined with the intermittent nature of solar generation can create operating scenarios where the existing solar generation must be curtailed ensure compliance with NERC Reliability Standards. Specific standards of concern are NERC BAL-001 and BAL-002.

https://www.talgov.com/page/cep