234120 Supplemental Letter 2.pdf

CITY OF SALEM

FINANCE DEPARTMENT

CONTRACTS & PROCUREMENT DIVISION

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION LETTER #2

April 5, 2024

RFP NO. 234120

FOR: Municipal Energy Master Plan

CLOSING DATE: April 19, 2024 at 4:00 PM (LOCAL TIME)

The following are questions and answers received:

1. Q) Can you provide a list of in-scope facilities (and associated square footage) and other infrastructure which the City intends to include in this contract?

A) Please see Supplemental Information Letter #1, Scope of Work for the

Municipal Energy Master Plan of what we believe is a good set of case-study buildings (building type, square footage, year built, and energy use) that would provide a framework to how to approach all buildings, this may be adjusted at the advice of the consulting firm. All facilities are considered included for this project. However, not every building will need to be expressly addressed.

The intent of the case study buildings is to provide more specific guidelines going forward based on similar building type/use.

2. Q) Are the Salem Convention Center and other properties/resources listed under the

Urban Renewal Area budget part of this contract?

A) The operations of the Salem Convention Center are to their own entity, they may collaborate on the overall findings, though they are not included in the case study buildings. There are several of the suggested case study buildings that are in urban renewal areas:

Civic Center (City Hall and Council)

Main Library

Police Department

IT/HR/CCTV

Fire Station 1

Pringle Community Center

3. Q) Will the awardee of this contract also remain eligible to implement design and construction work for City, related or unrelated to the energy plan?

A) No.

4. Q) In Section 1.1 of the RFP there is a note stating that the City’s fleet conversion is not part of the Municipal Facilities Plan. However, Section 1.2 states that Salem’s transportation system should be included in the Municipal Operations Plan. Can the

City please define which part(s) of the transportation system are to be included in the Municipal Operations Plan?

A) The transportation system’s energy usage includes what is required for traffic lights, streetlights, and various safety lights (pedestrian flashers, school zone flashers, speed limit signs).

5. Q) Page three of the RFP states: “Funding for the Energy Master Plan is coming from the Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program from the

Department of Energy.” Are there any additional reporting, procurement, delivery, or other requirements associated with this funding beyond what is otherwise described in the RFP?

A) The reporting requirements are listed in Section 2.1 under deliverables subpoint 2. The administration of the grant will be handled by City staff.

6. Q) What is the desired timeframe for Draft Report, and/or Finished Report to be delivered? (20 meetings has been noted, likely with a cadence to be determined)

A) Our tentative timeline is for a draft report end of Winter and finished report

Spring/Summer 2025. This timeline may change due to funding timeline.

7. Q) What is the total number of buildings/facilities and total square footage?

A) Total Building square footage: 2,268,545 / There are 94 buildings

There are 11 proposed case study buildings (though this may change due to the advice of the consultant – see Supplemental Information Letter #1, Scope of Work for the Municipal Energy Master Plan)

The Case-Study Building square footage: 383,494 / from 11 buildings

8. Q) What is the Total annual utility budget for Electric and Natural Gas?

A) Total energy budget for 2023: $4,607,887

Natural Gas: $337,292

Electric: $ 4,270,585

9. Q) Of those, how many have received an energy audit in the last 5 years?

A) Four at new construction/remodel design to informally meet LEED standards.

10. Q) How many existing renewable energy generation facilities exist in the portfolio?

A) There are 3 currently: Solar panels on the roof of Salem Public Library, the renewable microgrid (solar + storage) at the Public Works and Parks

Operations building, and methane cogeneration at the wastewater treatment facility.

11. Q) Is there an estimated quantity of electrical and gas meters in the city’s portfolio?

A) Estimated: 530 electric meters /40 natural gas meters.

12. Q) If any, how many facilities have building management systems (BMS) and/or

Energy Management Systems? Can remote viewing access be provided during the data collection process?

A) 19 have BAS, yes remote viewing can be provided via Citrix.

13. Q) Have any assets in the portfolio had energy models developed within the last 10 years? Can those be made available to the selected Consultant team?

14. Q) Will site visits be required for every facility?

A) Site visits will be required for the case study locations.

15. Q) Will in-person meetings be preferred, or will many be hybrid/virtual?

A) To help reduce environmental impact and cost, hybrid/virtual meetings are preferred. In-person can be optimized to overlap with site visits, if possible.

16. Q) Will energy modeling be required for every facility?

A) Energy modeling will be required for the case study sites.

17. Q) Are there any aquatic centers in the portfolio?

A) There are no city-owned/operated pools.

18. Q) Has building energy use, as impacted by COVID changes, been studied anywhere in the City’s portfolio to date?

19. Q) Can the City share any deliverables that emerged from the Phase 1 NREL/City scope of work?

A) See Attached U.S. Department of Energy Clean Energy to Communities

Program, Expert Match Program, Scope of Technical Assistance to Salem, Oregon, August 8, 2023.

20. Q) Will participation in this work preclude the selected Consultant team from future solicitations to make improvements in these buildings?

A) Yes.

21. Q) Does the City have an in-house real estate strategist?

A) Yes.

22. Q) Should Consultant team include an economist to help shape priorities and recommendations within a broader economic development context?

A) That would be covered in Section 3.C. (Approach to this Project). Funding

Opportunities and Recommendations (section 2 tasks 8 & 9) require taking into consideration economic feasibility.

Shawna Self, CPPB

Purchasing Manager cc: File

U.S. Department of Energy Clean Energy to Communities Program Expert Match Program

Scope of Technical Assistance to Salem, Oregon August 8, 2023

Objective This scope outlines specific areas of technical assistance support to be provided by the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) to The City of Salem (City) under the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Communities to Clean Energy (C2C) Expert Match Pilot Program.

Background The City of Salem is the home of state government administrative offices with a population of between 100,000 and 500,000. Salem has an ambitious goal to reduce GHG emissions by 50% (baseline 2016) by 2035. Their Climate Action Plan (CAP) identifies specific strategies, including energy-specific actions, to reduce emissions. However, City staff do not have the capacity to develop a detailed Energy Master Plan to guide them. Master plans are an especially important tool in municipal governance that can serve to guide programs, projects, and investments. To further advance the strategies of the CAP, the City requested technical assistance from NREL to produce a Scope of Work for an Energy Master Plan (EMP) that would form the basis for a project RFP, grant application, or other energy-related decisions.

DOE C2C Program The C2C program is a DOE-funded effort designed to provide technical support to communities transitioning to clean energy and more sustainable energy economies. The planned program design includes an "Expert Match" technical assistance program, through which NREL and other national laboratories will provide tailored technical assistance to communities. A typical request will include 40– 60 hours of technical support on a topic where expert assistance is critical to the community for making an informed clean energy decision. The City of Salem, Oregon, has been selected as a participant in the C2C Expert Match program because of the alignment of its emissions reduction, energy efficiency, and renewable energy goals with the C2C program mission.

Proposed Work NREL held a call with Commissioner Michael Slater of Salem’s Planning Commission on June 12th and July 10th, 2023, to gauge the City’s interest in C2C and to further scope this opportunity. NREL can provide immediate assistance working with City staff, Planning Commissioner Slater, and the Planning Commission’s Subcommittee on Efficiency, Energy and Resilience to develop an Energy Master Plan Scope of Work focused on assessing future energy needs, improving grid resilience, maximizing community-sited and community-scaled renewable energy infrastructure, and addressing systematic energy equity issues. At the time of this scope of work, the City and NREL are still determining the appropriate scale of this endeavor, which may be jurisdiction-wide or more narrowly focused on City infrastructure and other City-owned assets and projects. In addition, this Plan may also provide a municipal decarbonization plan, and identify potential sites for EV infrastructure and solar pv on municipal owned properties.

This work will be accomplished in six tasks: 1) review example Energy Master Plans; 2) establish Master Plan approach, boundaries, and assumptions; 3) establish a checklist of necessary data; 4) recommend methods of analysis and equitable engagement; 5) provide principles for equitable engagement; and 6) write a three- to five- page document that describes the scope of the work for a potential City-initiated project to be completed in the future.

Energy Master Plan Scope of Work NREL will provide draft a scope of work that may be used as the basis of a consultant solicitation, grant applications, or other energy-related decisions such as partnership development. Activities in this work area are expected to include:

•Task 1: Review example Energy Master Plans: Review up to ten (10) example Energy Master Plans and similar city-wide energy planning documents for approaches, analytical methods, data needs, and implementation methods. Identify examples that address municipal decarbonization and equity.

•Task 2: Define EMP plan scope: Work with City staff and the Salem Planning Commission’s Subcommittee on Energy Efficiency and Resilience to define the approach, boundaries, and assumptions that will define the EMP. Clarify the key questions and desired outcomes of the EMP. The scope’s boundaries may be a geographic extent, a budgetary constraint, or other factors that would help the City and potential bidders develop comparable proposals.

•Task 3: Establish data checklist: Based on the findings from Task 1 and data provided by the City, describe the type of baseline data that would be needed to complete the various analyses.

Ascertain where the needed data might be sourced and what types of partnerships or agreements may be required to obtain the necessary data.

•Task 4: Recommend methods of analysis: Review up to four (4) EMP examples and describe the preferred/best practice methods for assessing energy needs and answering key questions provided in Task 2. Ascertain who prepared the plans and what expertise and skillsets were required. Ascertain mechanisms under the control of city government that enabled implementation of the plan’s goals.

•Task 5: Provide principles for equitable engagement: Provide a check list of best practice processes, methods, and principles for equitable community engagement and equitable community energy planning. This task is contingent on the availability of program resources and is not guaranteed.

•Task 6: Draft scope of work document: Write a three- to five-page description of the content, components, preferred methods, and scope of an Energy Master plan, to be completed by others.

Deliverable: Three- to five-page document describing components, preferred methods, and scope of an Energy Master Plan that may form the basis of a consultant solicitation, grant applications, or other energy-related decisions support such as partnership development. This will include a data checklist and, if program resources allow, an equity principles checklist.

The project team will hold progress check-in calls at the 60% and 90% completion point to discuss project progress and obtain continuous feedback on areas of improvement, with a final debrief on lessons learned once technical assistance has concluded. The period of performance for the technical assistance tentatively planned for August to September 2023 but may be extended if needed.

Points of Contact City of Salem

• Heather Dimke – Climate Action Plan Coordinator

• Michael Slater – Commissioner, Salem Planning Commission

NREL

• Chrissy Scarpitti – Researcher, Main NREL Point of Contact

• Shanti Pless – Researcher, Buildings and Community Energy Planning Expert

• Sika Gadzanku – Researcher, C2C Expert Match Program Lead