23-0002 RFI Electric School Bus Microgrid.pdf

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (“RFI”)

23-0002

Storage Battery, Solar Array, & Necessary Infrastructure to Create a Microgrid for Electric School Buses

RFI Closing:

August 23, 2023- 2PM PST

Issued by Beaverton School District

1260 NW Waterhouse Avenue Beaverton, Oregon 97006

July 21, 2023

RFI SUMMARY

RFI 23-0002

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

Summary

The purpose of this Request for Information is to obtain Proposals from qualified Proposers for the purpose of seeking information related to required sizing for a storage battery, solar array, and necessary infrastructure needed to create a microgrid for electric school buses.

A Non-MANDATORY conference will be held on July 31 at 1:00 PM on Zoom, Join Zoom Meeting https://beavertonk12.zoom.us/j/81371746833?pwd=cUVXTkRNZ3JTOUdSYXRid0p3QkdoQT09

Meeting ID: 813 7174 6833 Passcode: 755135

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Meeting ID: 813 7174 6833 Find your local number: https://beavertonk12.zoom.us/u/kchvQn2kDM

An optional RFI Information Session for this RFI will be held to answer questions from prospective respondents.

During the Information Session, Beaverton School District Transportation staff will summarize the goals of the RFI and the information requested. Beaverton School District Transportation staff will take questions from prospective respondents and community members during the Information Session. Any answers given at the Information Session are tentative, and final answers will be provided via a Q&A document released after the Deadline for Questions identified in Section 8.

PRIOR to the Solicitation Closing date and time specified below, Proposers must submit a Proposal pursuant to the provisions of this RFI to contracts@beaverton.k12.or.us.

CLOSING: August 23, 2023 at 2:00 PM Pacific Time

Late Proposals may be accepted, but they may be too late for the District to take into consideration relative to developing any scopes of work that may be informed by this RFI.

Proposers are solely responsible for ensuring that the Beaverton School District receives its Proposal.

Prospective Proposers must register with Oregon Buys – http://oregonbuys.gov/ to obtain the solicitation documents and to receive any associated information/updates/addenda. Proposers must familiarize themselves with the entire Solicitation Document.

https://beavertonk12.zoom.us/j/81371746833?pwd=cUVXTkRNZ3JTOUdSYXRid0p3QkdoQT09 https://beavertonk12.zoom.us/u/kchvQn2kDM mailto:contracts@beaverton.k12.or.us

ALL Questions and comments regarding this RFI must be directed ONLY IN WRITING by email to:

contracts@beaverton.k12.or.us

THE DISTRICT MAY NOT BE ABLE TO REVIEW INFORMATION FOUND IN ANY PROPOSAL NOT IN COMPLIANCE

WITH ALL PRESCRIBED REQUIREMENTS

1. INTRODUCTION:

This Solicitation is intended to obtain information only, and is not intended to result in any contract awards..

2. DEFINITIONS:

The term "District" or “Owner” throughout this document means the Beaverton School District 48J. The term “Proposer” means the person or firm that submits a Proposal in response to this RFI. The term “Proposal” means a written response to provide services in response to this Solicitation.

3. SOLICITATION REVIEW:

Proposers must carefully review the Solicitation documents and are responsible for knowing and understanding all terms and conditions. Proposers may make the District aware of any defects, ambiguities, omissions, or errors by emailing contrats@beaverton.k12.or.us.

4. BACKGROUND:

Beaverton School District is transitioning a large portion of its school bus fleet from diesel powered to electric powered school buses. As this process continues, the District recognizes the effect interruption of electrical power would have on the readiness of these buses. The District is looking for a method to supply interim power during periods of loss and the ability to provide emergency power to the utility as needed when not otherwise required to charge buses.

5. SCOPE OF WORK:

The Project Scope is to gather information related to required sizing for a storage battery, solar array, and necessary infrastructure needed to create a microgrid for the Beaverton School District. The information received may be used to inform development of scopes of work for future solicitations/contracts, but this RFI in and of itself, is not intended to result in a contract award.

6. DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE:

The District Representative for the project is to be determined. All communication and questions regarding this RFI need to be directed to contracts@beaverton.k12.or.us.

7. RFI SCHEDULE:

The milestones for the solicitation are set forth below. The dates are specific and will be followed to the extent reasonably possible. The purpose of this schedule is for Proposer information only. Required dates for Contract period milestones, submittals and any other activities are provided elsewhere in this Solicitation. The District reserves the right to deviate from this schedule at its sole discretion.

RFI Milestone Date Non-Mandatory conference July 31, 2023, 1:00 PM Pacific Time mailto:contrats@beaverton.k12.or.us

Deadline for submitting requests for clarification. August 4, 2023 Closing August 23, 2023, 2:00 PM Pacific Time

8. CONTACT DURING RFI:

Questions or any other contact regarding the RFI must be submitted in writing via email to contracts@beaverton.k12.or.us as indicated on the Summary page of this RFI. Contact may also occur as otherwise stated within the RFI.

9. Additional information regarding this RFI and certain forms for download are available on the

Oregon Buys website: www.oregonbuys.gov http://www.oregonbuys.gov/

1. Purpose and Introduction

The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to seek information related to required sizing for a storage battery, solar array, and necessary infrastructure to create a microgrid for electric buses.

2. Overview The Beaverton Transportation Department plans to install a storage battery, solar array and related infrastructure to provide backup electricity to chargers in the event of a power outage and to use solar power as a supplemental source of energy generation to supply chargers and a storage battery. The District may want to select a solution which can be deployed modularly (e.g., battery in phase 1, solar array in phase 2). We are seeking information about what solutions currently exist in the market and are interested in learning about what information you would need to scope a logical road map for this deployment."

3. Background Information

The Beaverton School District encompasses approximately 57 square miles in northwestern Oregon in Washington County. The District, located in the Portland, Oregon metro area, is the third largest School District in Oregon.

The Beaverton School District has approximately 4,700 employees. The District is responsible for educating approximately 39,600 students in kindergarten through grade 12 at thirty-four (34) Elementary Schools, nine (9) Middle Schools, six (6) High Schools, five (5) Options Schools, and nineteen

(19) Options Programs.

The District employs a fleet of over 300 school buses of which 20 are electric-powered. The District has 30 Level 2 charging stations active with 20 additional charging stations in development (Level 2 and Level 3).

4. Goals and Outcome Beaverton School District has completed many buildings, maintenance, and repair over several decades.

The advent of electric school buses has necessitated the District to install backup electrical capacity in the event of power failure. The District seeks to ensure such capability is of necessary size and ability to meet demands of supplying uninterrupted transportation service to students.

5. Information Requested

Beaverton School District is interested in hearing feedback on this proposed project from firms, organizations, or individuals possessing experience and knowledge of national or regional best practices in the subject area, and capable of accurately sizing and determining infrastructure needs to microgrid projects.

Respondents are invited to provide information on the following subjects of interest:

•What size storage battery is needed to provide sufficient backup power to charge up to 50 school buses with batteries ranging from 155 kW to 240 kW per day for an extended period?

• What size solar array is required to supply supplemental power to charge up to 50 school buses during peak mid-day periods of sunshine (typically 10:00 am through 2:00 pm)?

• What size solar array is required to supply supplemental power to a storage battery when not supplying power to buses?

• What characteristics or features should a software system include to manage chargers, storage battery, and solar energy distribution in a microgrid?

• How are other similarly sized transportation operations mitigating loss of power risks?

• What is a reasonable length of time a project of this scope should be expected to need to be successfully completed?

• Please name any other public school district clients with whom you have successfully implemented solar/battery solution and briefly describe the contracting method (i.e., design-build, CM/GC, design-bid-build, others?) and include the name of the school district used to support the project. Provision of applicable RFP/contract documents is encouraged.

Please note, this Request for Information (RFI) is for informational purposes only, and no contract will be awarded as a result. A firm or organization’s response to the RFI—or lack thereof—will have no impact on the evaluation of responses to any subsequent Request for Proposals (RFP) or Invitation to Bid (ITB) released.

Responses will be used solely for information and planning purposes.

Please note that all responses will be public record. Do not submit confidential information in your response.

RFI Milestones:

Responses Due: Wednesday August 23, 2023

To ensure proper identification and handling, the Responses must be submitted to contracts@beaverton.k12.or.us and the email subject line/body text/file names should include the Solicitation number, and/or other clearly identifying information.

District Clarifications:

1. NOT AN ORDER. This is ONLY a request for information and should not be construed as intent, commitment or promise to acquire the equipment, goods or services presented by Firms. This RFI is being published strictly for the purpose of gaining knowledge of the referenced equipment, goods or services available in the market and their application potential.

2. OBLIGATION. The District will not be obligated to any Firm as a result of this RFI. The District is not obligated for any cost incurred by Firms in the preparation of the Request for Information. The District will not pay for any information herein requested nor is liable for any costs incurred by the Firm. For economy of presentation, special bindings, colored displays, promotional materials and the like are not required but if they are presented, the District will not be responsible for this cost.

3. PRICING. The Firm is not required to provide prices for any solutions proposed. However, general cost estimates would be appreciated. The figures provided are not binding to the company. These costs will assist the District in developing our initial strategy and budget for the project.

4. REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. From the data collected through this RFI, the District will review all information and options, assess our needs and refine our requirements.

5. OWNERSHIP. All information obtained shall become the property of the District upon receipt and will not be returned or disclosed.

6. SITE VISIT/DEMONSTRATION. The District may arrange a site visit to evaluate a Firm’s facility. The District also may request a Firm to perform a complete demonstration.