837060solarDelaw.pdf

Contract #: eOOS-083126

COUNTY OF DELAWARE

GOVERNMENT CENTER BUILDING

DEPARTMENT OF CENTRAL PURCHASING

201 W. FRONT STREET

MEDIA, PENNSYLVANIA 19063

(610) 891-4427

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

SOLAR ARRAY DESIGN, PROCUREMENT, AND

INSTALLATION AT THREE COUNTY SITES

FAIR & OPEN PUBLIC SOLICITATION

SUBMISSION DEADLINE:

• DATE: AUGUST 31, 2026

• TIME: 11:00 AM

• PLACE: PennBid (pennbid.bonfirehub.com) https://pennbid.procureware.com/home

Table of Contents

1. INTRODUCTION

2. ADMINISTRATIVE CONDITIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

2.1 SCHEDULE

2.2 PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INFORMATION

2.3 MANAGING DEPARTMENT INFORMATION

2.4 COUNTY REPRESENTATIVE FOR THIS SOLICITATION

2.5 INTERPRETATIONS AND ADDENDA

2.6 QUANTITIES OF ESTIMATE

2.7 COST LIABILITY AND ADDITIONAL COSTS

2.8 STATUTORY AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS

2.9 PUBLIC EMERGENCY

2.10 MULTIPLE PROPOSALS NOT ACCEPTED

2.11 FAILURE TO ENTER CONTRACT

2.12 COMMENCEMENT OF WORK

2.13 TERMINATION OF CONTRACT

2.14 NON-ALLOCATION OF FUNDING TERMINATION

2.15 CHALLENGE OF SPECIFICATIONS

2.16 PAYMENT

2.17 NON-PAYMENT OF PENALTIES AND INTEREST ON OVERDUE BILLS

2.18 OWNERSHIP OF MATERIAL

2.19 W-9

2.20 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) RESTRICTIONS

3. SCOPE OF WORK

3.1 PROJECT OVERVIEW & BACKGROUND

3.2 SCOPE OF SERVICES

4. PROPOSAL/ RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS

4.1. PROPOSAL CONTENT & ORGANIZATION (REQUIRED TABS)

4.2 ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED

5. EVALUATION, REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS

5.1 PROPOSALS TO REMAIN SUBJECT TO ACCEPTANCE

5.2 REJECTION OF PROPOSALS

5.3 EVALUATION PROCESS

5.4 EVALUATION CRITERIA

5.5 TERM OF THE CONTRACT

5.6 CONTRACT EXTENSION

5.7 NOTICE OF AWARD

6.TERMS AND CONDITIONS

ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED

CHECKLIST

ATTACHMENT A – ENTITY INFORMATION FORM

ATTACHMENT B – PROPOSAL COST FORM - Page 1 ATTACHMENT B – PROPOSAL COST FORM - Page 2

ATTACHMENT C – NON-COLLUSION AFFIDAVIT

ATTACHMENT D – OWNERSHIP DISCLOSURE CERTIFICATION

ATTACHMENT E – INSURANCE REQUIREMENT ACKNOWLEDGMENT FORM

ATTACHMENT F – ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE DISCLOSURE

ATTACHMENT G – QUALIFICATION AFFIDAVIT

ATTACHMENT H – SUBMISSION FORMAT

ATTACHMENT I – ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF CORRECTIONS, ADDITIONS, OR DELETIONS FORM

ATTACHMENT J – STATEMENT OF INDEBTEDNESS

ATTACHMENT K – AGREEMENT FOR PAYMENT OF COMMODITY

ATTACHMENT L – LETTER OF INTENT

ATTACHMENT M – GOOD STANDING OR SUBSISTENCE CERTIFICATES

ATTACHMENT N – DIVERSITY BUSINESS ENTERPRISE PROGRAM FORM

ATTACHMENT O – FORM OF CONTRACT

SOLAR ARRAY DESIGN, PROCUREMENT, AND INSTALLATION AT THREE COUNTY SITES

The County of Delaware, Pennsylvania (the “County”) is soliciting proposals from qualified contractors for the design, procurement, and installation of solar arrays at three County locations. The County seeks a cost-effective, reliable, and secure solution that allows for the installation of solar energy, and that also meets the prescribed deadlines of the Investment Tax Credits (ITC).

RFP responses will be received virtually via PennBid (pennbid.bonfirehub.com) by the Department of Central Purchasing on Monday, August 31st @ 11:00 a.m. at which time responses will be opened and read aloud for

SOLAR ARRAY DESIGN, PROCUREMENT, AND INSTALLATION AT THREE COUNTY SITES.

Detailed Request for Proposal is located on the PennBid (pennbid.bonfirehub.com) link which can be reviewed and/or downloaded.

Unless otherwise provided, in any supplement to these instructions to respondent, no respondent shall modify, withdraw, or cancel the proposal or any part thereof for sixty (60) days after the time designated for the receipt of proposal in the advertisement or Request for Proposal. For any questions regarding such, please contact Tyler Rodriguez, Project Manager, and Jim E. Peterson, Director of Central Purchasing at (610) 891-4496.

Jim E. Peterson Director of Central Purchasing County of Delaware

Commented [SG1]: Is this done for RFP? What will be read -just the name of Respondents?

1. INTRODUCTION

The County of Delaware (the “County”) is seeking proposals from qualified firms to provide preliminary and final design/engineering, and building services for the SOLAR ARRAY DESIGN, PROCUREMENT, AND INSTALLATION AT THREE COUNTY SITES. The purpose of this Request for Proposals ("RFP") is to provide qualified respondents with information to enable them to evaluate three properties owned by the County for the installation of roof mounted solar arrays. The three properties, herein referred to as (the “Properties”), are the:

• Delaware County Government Center, located at 201 West Front St., Media, PA 19063;

• Delaware County Voting Machine Warehouse, located at 403 E. 24th St., Chester, PA 19013; and,

• Redwood Community Center, located at 280 6th St., Brookhaven, PA 19015

Additional information regarding each property is available in the reference document titled “Property Information for Solar Projects”. The County of Delaware (the "County" or the “Owner”) intends to use the results of this RFP to negotiate and award one or more engineering, procurement, and construction contracts for solar installation on the Properties (the "Solar Projects").

The goals of the County include: a. Reducing monthly electric bills, b. Creating stable, predictable electricity costs,

c. Powering the Properties with local renewable energy consistent with the County's Sustainability Plan, Sustain Delco: A Sustainability Plan for Delaware County (2023), d. Demonstrating leadership in this area for the municipalities in the County and throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (the "County Goals"), and e.

Utilizing the benefits of the commercial Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credits (“ITC”) prior to their expiration, which requires that: i. Projects must be fully operational with permission to operate by December 31, 2027, or ii.

Projects commencing on for before July 4, 2026, which have met the required 5% safe harbor provisions, will have four years after commencement of construction.

The RFP is designed to help the County identify a preferred developer or Engineering, Procurement and Construction Contractor ("EPC Contractor") to install quality solar energy systems on the Properties. The County has undertaken sufficient diligence to determine that the County Goals can be met, so long as the Solar Projects are completed in time for the County to obtain the ITC. The diligence included a joint Invitation to Bid with neighboring collar counties in the Philadelphia region, through a consortium known as the Sustainable Energy Partnership of Southeast Pennsylvania (SEP). That solicitation included options for direct pay and/or a potential Power Purchase Agreement with Capital Good Fund who had safe-harbored equipment to enable the members SEP to avail themselves to the longer construction period under the ITC provisions. Following response from the joint-solicitation, Delaware County determined that an RFP process, issued directly by the County, was more suitable to meeting the goals of the County and obtaining the best value.

In this Request for Proposals, the County is seeking proposals that include one or more of the following scenarios:

A. A Direct Purchase bid using the developer’s preferred FEOC-compliant equipment and County funding, B. A Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) using the Respondent's preferred FEOC-compliant equipment.

In order to be considered, Respondents to this RFP must bid on either a Direct Purchase, Power Purchase Agreement, or both.

Respondents are encouraged to submit proposals for all three Projects, however if a particular project cannot be completed and placed in service by the applicable ITC deadline, the Respondent should clearly indicate their opinion in writing with respect to such project.

Commented [SG2]: What word are we looking for her? Is this building services?

Additionally, respondents are encouraged to use their own equipment that has similarly been safe harbored in a way that could enable the County to avail itself to the longer construction timeline of the ITC, or partner with an entity that could provide such equipment to accomplish this goal. Assurances of meeting ITC deadlines will be required.

The resulting contract will be managed by the Delaware County Department of Public Works.

2. ADMINISTRATIVE CONDITIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

The following items express the administrative conditions and requirements of this RFP. Together with the other sections, they will apply to the RFP process, the subsequent contract, and project implementation. The contents of the proposal of the successful respondent (hereinafter referred to as the “Respondent”, “Developer”, or “Contractor”) as accepted by the Owner, will become part of any contract awarded as a result of this RFP. If awarded, Contractors shall retain a copy of these proposal documents for their files as these documents will become part of the contract terms and conditions.

2.1 SCHEDULE

A schedule has been established for respondent proposals, proposal review, contractor selection and project initiation. The dates established for the procurement are:

• Release of RFP: July 20, 2026

• Mandatory Site-Visits: August 6, 2026* August 7, 2026*

• Final Day for Bidders’ Questions: August 19, 2026

• Proposal Due Date: August 31 @ 11:00 AM

• Finalist Interviews, if necessary: September 3rd and 4th *Times and Locations TBD

2.2 PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INFORMATION

All responses must be submitted/uploaded on PennBid (pennbid.bonfirehub.com). Only those RFP responses received prior to or on the submission date will be considered. Responses delivered before the submission date and time specified above may be withdrawn upon written application of the respondent who shall be required to produce evidence showing that the individual is or represents the principal or principals involved in the proposal.

After the submission date and time specified above, responses must remain firm for a period of sixty (60) days.

It is the responsibility of the Respondent to ensure that its response is received by the date and time specified above. All costs (including travel) incurred in the preparation of a response will be the responsibility of the Respondent and will not be reimbursed by the County or any other entity.

The County reserves the right to disqualify any proposals received after the specified date/time and not completed in the indicated format and inclusive of required information.

2.3 MANAGING DEPARTMENT INFORMATION

Danielle Floyd, Director of Public Works County of Delaware 201 West Front Street, Media, PA 19063

610-891-4668

2.4 COUNTY REPRESENTATIVE FOR THIS SOLICITATION

Jim E. Peterson, Director of Central Purchasing

Commented [RY3]: Do we need specific times and locations in the RFP or do we have wiggle room to follow up?

Commented [SG4R3]: I think you can asterisk and say, preliminary, subject to change, and put out a public notice of any changes?

County of Delaware 340 North Middletown Road, Fair Acres Building 13, Media, PA 19063 610-891-4496

2.5 INTERPRETATIONS AND ADDENDA

Respondents are expected to examine the RFP with care and observe all its requirements. All questions concerning the meaning or intent of this RFP, all interpretations and clarifications considered necessary by the Owner’s representative in response to such comments and questions will be issued by Addenda via one or more of the following methods: PennBid; e-mail; website; or delivered to all parties recorded as having received the RFP package. Only comments and questions responded to by formal written (uploaded via PennBid) Addenda will be binding. Oral interpretations, statements or clarifications are without legal effect.

Respondents shall refrain from contacting or soliciting any staff member or official of the County regarding this RFP until the time of award by County Council. Failure to comply may result in disqualification of the Respondent.

2.6 QUANTITIES OF ESTIMATE

Wherever the estimated quantities of work to be done are shown in any section of this RFP, including the Proposal Cost Form, they are given for use in comparing proposals. The Owner especially reserves the right (except as herein otherwise specifically limited) to increase or diminish the quantities as may be deemed reasonably necessary or desirable by the Owner to complete the work detailed by the contract. Such increase or diminution shall in no way violate this contract, nor shall any such increase or diminution give cause for claims or liability for damages.

2.7 COST LIABILITY AND ADDITIONAL COSTS

The Owner assumes no responsibility and liability for costs incurred by the Respondents prior to the issuance of an agreement. The liability of the Owner shall be limited to the terms and conditions of the contract (the form of which is attached hereto as ATTACHMENT O).

Respondents will assume responsibility for all costs not stated in their proposals. All unit rates either stated in the proposal or used as a basis for its pricing are required to be all-inclusive. Additional charges, unless incurred for additional work performed by request of the Owner as noted in 2.6, are not to be billed and will not be paid.

2.8 STATUTORY AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS

2.8.1 COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS

Any contract entered between the Contractor and the Owner must be in accordance with and subject to compliance by both parties with the County of Delaware Administrative Code. The Contractor must agree to comply with the non-discrimination provisions and all other laws and regulations applicable to the performance of services thereunder. The Respondent shall sign and acknowledge such forms and certificates as may be required by this section.

2.8.2 STOCKHOLDER DISCLOSURE

The Disclosure of Ownership Form, which is part of the RFP (ATTACHMENT D) shall be properly executed and submitted with the RFP response. No corporation or partnership shall be awarded any contract for the performance of any work or the furnishing of any goods, unless, with receipt of the proposal of said corporation or partnership, there is submitted a statement setting forth the names and addresses of all stockholders in the corporation or partnership who own ten (10) percent or greater interest therein. The Respondent shall complete and submit the form of statement that is included in this RFP.

2.8.3 NON-COLLUSION AFFIDAVIT

The Non-Collusion Affidavit, which is part of this RFP (ATTACHMENT C), shall be properly executed and submitted with the RFP response.

2.8.4 INSURANCE AND INDEMNIFICATION

Before the contract is awarded, and unless otherwise approved by the County's representative in writing, the Contractor shall, at its sole cost and expense, procure the following minimum types and limits of insurance as detailed in the Form of Contract attached hereto as (ATTACHMENT O). Such insurance shall be maintained in full force and effect until completion of the Services or final acceptance of the entire Project or the completion of all post-acceptance warranty or related work by Contractor, whichever is later.

2.9 PUBLIC EMERGENCY

In the event of a Public Emergency declared at the Local, State or Federal Level, if the County opts to extend terms and conditions of this RFP, the Contractor agrees to extend the terms and conditions of this RFP, whether existing, expiring or expired no longer than six months, for goods and/or services for the duration of the emergency. In the event the original Contractor cannot meet this requirement, the County may solicit the goods and/or services from any bidder on this contract.

2.10 MULTIPLE PROPOSALS NOT ACCEPTED

More than one proposal from an individual, a firm or partnership, a corporation or association under the same or different names shall not be considered.

2.11 FAILURE TO ENTER CONTRACT

Should the Respondent, to whom the contract is awarded, fail to enter into a contract within ten (10) days, Sundays and holidays excepted, the Owner may then, at its option, accept the proposal of another respondent.

2.12 COMMENCEMENT OF WORK

The Contractor agrees to commence work after the date of award by the Owner and upon notice from the using department.

2.13 TERMINATION OF CONTRACT

If, through any cause, the Contractor shall fail to fulfill in a timely and proper manner obligations under the contract or if the Contractor violates any requirements of the Contract, the Owner shall thereupon have the right to terminate the Contract by giving written notice to the Contractor of such termination at least thirty (30) days prior to the proposed effective date of the termination. Such termination shall relieve the Owner of any obligation for the balances to the Contractor of any sum or sums set forth in the contract. See Form of Contract attached hereto as Attachment O for complete details.

The Contractor agrees to indemnify and hold the owner harmless from any liability to subcontractors/suppliers concerning payment for work performed or goods supplied arising out of the lawful termination of the contract by the Owner under this provision.

In case of default by the Contractor, the Owner may procure the articles or services from other sources and hold the Contractor responsible for any excess cost occasioned thereby.

2.14 NON-ALLOCATION OF FUNDING TERMINATION

Each calendar year payment obligation of the Owner is conditioned upon the availability of Owner funds appropriated or allocated for the payment of such an obligation. If funds are not allocated and available for the continuance of any services performed by the Contractor hereunder, whether in whole or in part, the Owner at the end of any particular calendar year may terminate such services. The Owner will notify the Contractor in writing immediately of any services that will be affected by a shortage of appropriated funds. This provision shall not be construed so as to permit the Owner to terminate the Contract during the term, or any service hereunder, merely in order to acquire identical services from a third-party contractor. See Form of Contract attached hereto as Attachment O for complete details.

2.15 CHALLENGE OF SPECIFICATIONS

Any Respondent who wishes to challenge a specification shall file such challenge in writing with the Director of Central Purchasing no less than three (3) business days prior to the opening of the RFP's. Challenges filed after that time shall be considered void and having no impact on the Owner or the award of contract.

2.16 PAYMENT

Invoices shall specify, in detail, the period for which payment is claimed, the services performed during the prescribed period, the amount claimed and correlation between the services claimed and the Proposal Cost Form.

The Owner may withhold all or partial payments on account of subsequently discovered evidence as set forth in the Form of Contract attached hereto as Appendix O, including but not limited to the following:

A. Deliverables not complying with the project specification.

B. Claims filed or responsible evidence indicating probability of filing claims.

C. A reasonable doubt that the contract can be completed for the balance then unpaid.

D. Percentages of project completion lagging behind the Project Payment Schedule.

E. Payments shall not total more than 90% of the maximum bid amount until the end of the contract period.

F. When the above grounds are removed, payment shall be made for amounts withheld because of them.

G. Additional provisions as detailed in the Form of Contract attached hereto as ATTACHMENT O.

2.17 NON-PAYMENT OF PENALTIES AND INTEREST ON OVERDUE BILLS

Public funds may be used to pay only for goods delivered or services rendered. The County will not pay penalties and/or interest on overdue bills. No employee is authorized to sign a letter of credit or any other document that represents a legal commitment on the part of the County to pay additional fees.

2.18 OWNERSHIP OF MATERIAL

The Owner shall retain all of its rights and interests in any and all documents and property both hard copy and digital furnished by the Owner to the Contractor for the purpose of assisting the Contractor in the performance of this contract. All such items shall be returned immediately to the Owner at the expiration or termination of the contract or completion of any related services, pursuant thereto, whichever comes first. None of the documents and/or property shall, without the written consent of the Owner, be disclosed to others or used by the Contractor or permitted by the Contractor to be used by their parties at any time except in the performance of the resulting contract.

Ownership of all data, materials and documentation originated and prepared for the Owner pursuant to this contract shall belong exclusively to the Owner. All data, reports, computerized information, programs and materials related to these projects shall be delivered to and become the property of the Owner upon completion of the projects. The Contractor shall not have the right to use, sell, or disclose the total of the interim or final work products, or make available to third parties, without the prior written consent of the Owner. All information supplied to the Owner may be required to be provided on electronic/digital media compatible with the Owner’s computer operating system.

Responses to this RFP may identify proprietary or confidential information for purposes of meeting an exception to the Pennsylvania Right-To-Know Law; however, the County is not bound by the identification of such information as propriety or confidential and will provide copies of materials provided hereunder in response to a right-to-know request as required by Pennsylvania law.

2.19 W-9

Successful Respondents shall complete W-9 Form and submit to Purchasing prior to contract award. The form is available at the following link: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-df/fw9.pdf

2.20 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) RESTRICTIONS

Unless explicitly stated within this RFP, the County is not seeking any proposals that utilize AI, either directly or indirectly. Any submissions that involve AI to fulfill the County’s goals must be clearly disclosed (ATTACHMENT F) and are subject to the clauses within this RFP. For the purposes of this RFP, AI means any system, model, software, or computational process, which is rule-based, statistical, machine-learning, deep-learning, neural-network-based, generative, or hybrid, that performs tasks normally requiring human intelligence. This includes machine learning (ML) and generative AI (GenAI) models that learn patterns or behaviors from datasets and produce outputs such as text, images, code, analytics, simulations, or recommendations. These tasks include, but are not limited to:

• Pattern Recognition • Data Classification or Prediction

• Autonomous Decision-making or Decision Assistance • Language Processing, Text Generation, or Translation

• Image, Audio, or Video Analysis or Generation • Optimization, Planning, or Recommendation Functions

• Self-Learning, Adaptive, or Self-Modifying Behavior Based on Input Data

For clarity, “AI training” includes any activity that uses data to:

• Train, retrain, fine-tune, calibrate, validate, benchmark, or otherwise improve an AI, ANI, AGI, ASI, or ML model

• Enhance an AI system’s performance, accuracy, capabilities, or understanding

• Derive embeddings, feature sets, or latent representations of the data for future AI use

2.20.1 TRAINING

The Contractor, and all subcontractors shall not, under any circumstances:

A. Use, analyze, access, transmit, store, or reproduce any County Data, including, but not limited to, metadata, derivative data, logs, usage information, or aggregated datasets, for the purpose of training, refining, enhancing, or otherwise improving any Artificial Intelligence, Artificial Narrow Intelligence (ANI), Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), Artificial Superintelligence (ASI), machine learning, or algorithms, whether proprietary, commercial, open-source, or third-party.

B. Allow County Data to be incorporated into or used to generate inputs for any AI system, including large language models, generative models, or predictive analytics systems, except where explicitly authorized in writing by the County.

C. Permit any third party, upstream provider, subcontractor, or affiliated entity to use or access County Data for AI training, model development, benchmarking, synthetic data generation, product improvement, or dataset creation of any kind

2.20.2 SYSTEM OPERATION

If Contractor’s proposal requires the of use AI functionality, the Contractor’s solution must:

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-df/fw9.pdf

1. Operate solely on the data expressly approved by the County

2. Perform only the AI-related functions explicitly described in the submitted proposal

3. Ensure that no County data is exported, intentionally or unintentionally, to external AI services, shared training materials, shared model weights, or external processing environments.

2.20.3 CERTIFICATIONS AND AUDIT RIGHTS

If the awarded contractor’s submitted proposal involved the use of AI, Contractor shall provide, upon request:

A. Written certification of compliance with this clause

B. Documentation of data handling practices, logging systems, and technical safeguards preventing AI-related use.

C. Access for County-authorized audits to verify that County Data has not been used for AI training or model improvement.

Non-compliance may result in immediate termination, withholding of payments, legal remedies, and ineligibility for future County contracts.

3. SCOPE OF WORK

The following is a description of the professional design services needed, including, where appropriate, a description of tasks involved:

SOLAR ARRAY DESIGN, PROCUREMENT, AND INSTALLATION AT THREE COUNTY SITES

The scope of services set forth in this Request for Proposal represents an outline of the services which the County anticipates the successful Respondent to perform and is presented for the primary purpose of allowing the County to compare proposals.

This Request for Proposal document presents background on the County, the scope of work desired, timeline, and proposal requirements. The RFP will be publicly advertised and will also be forwarded to number of agencies that have expressed interest in providing this support. Information related to this RFP is generally subject to “right-to-know” requirements under applicable laws, however the County may enter into non-disclosure agreements (NDA) as appropriate and allowable. All records and documents produced by the selected Respondent firm are the property of the County.

3.1 PROJECT OVERVIEW & BACKGROUND

The County of Delaware (“County”) is the fifth most populous county in Pennsylvania. The County is governed by County Council. County Council consists of a five-member body elected to staggered four-year terms of office. The powers and duties of Council are many and varied due to the Home Rule Charter. The Home Rule Charter gives County Council the authority to pass ordinances, resolutions and proclamations and to provide budget and personnel to the needs of the residents as they arise. Council is responsible for adopting a budget each calendar year, raising funds through taxes or bonds for capital projects, setting payroll scales and employee size.

In this Request for Proposals, the County is seeking proposals that include one or more of the following scenarios:

A. A Direct Pay bid using the developer’s preferred FEOC-compliant equipment and County funding, B. A Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) using the Respondent's preferred FEOC-compliant equipment.

In order to be considered, Respondents to this RFP must bid on either a Direct Purchase, Power Purchase Agreement, or both.

Should the County elect to award a Direct Purchase bid, the County will be "self-funding" this project. Self-funding is comprised of loan proceeds available to the County and other amounts on-hand at the County. Delaware County has the following public rating from Moody's - Aa2 (stable outlook). Availability of the ITC and compliance with applicable deadlines will have the impact of reducing total costs to the County by 30-40%. Respondents should make clear whether they can eliminate or significantly reduce any risk to the County regarding not being able to avail itself to these costs savings, and should specifically detail their approach, which may include qualifying for commencement of construction prior to July 4, 2026; any other approach to having the extended four-year construction deadline, etc. If none of the foregoing are available, Respondent should discuss whether it has ample equipment in inventory for the Projects and whether it can guarantee completion and Placed in Service/Permission to Operate prior to December 31, 2027. Failure to eliminate or significantly reduce the ITC risk to the County could result in a 30-40% increase in assumed costs during the evaluation process.

The County may elect to award a Power Purchase Agreement offered by Respondents. The basic terms of the Power Purchase Agreement should accompany the submission, and shall include at least:

A. Expected Rate, B. Expected Term(s) being offered, C. Inflators for Rate and years in which they will apply, D. Amount of costs related to interconnection built into the bid, E. Whether any changes in Trade Tariffs could impact Expected Rate or Inflators, F. Performance Guarantees, G. True up Process, H. Early termination provisions.

A form of the Power Purchase Agreement being offered by Respondent should accompany proposal.

3.2 SCOPE OF SERVICES

Full-scale RFPs can be time consuming and cumbersome. For this reason, and because time is of the essence, the County has attempted to streamline this request to provide Respondents with sufficient information needed to make an educated decision to move forward with final Contractor selection without overly burdening the Respondents. Therefore, no electrical drawings or CAD drawings, etc. will be requested at this time. However, if selected, the County will expect those and other more specific details to be provided prior to entering into a contract. In addition, the intent of this RFP is to provide as much information to assist Respondents with developing a “good faith” cost estimate. The County is aware that additional information that is not currently available may impact the cost or feasibility of the project moving forward even after Contractor selection, as well as the final, legally binding terms of any agreement. Additional building information relevant to each of the locations identified in Section 1. can be found in the reference document associated with this RFP titled “Property Information for Solar Projects”.

3.3 PROJECT SCOPE

The Solar Projects that have been identified by the County have been chosen as a result of these Properties recently receiving new roofs. The condition of these Properties should make them ideal for the Solar Projects.

The County is seeking proposals which are optimal size for the designated roof spaces. The successful Respondent will ultimately be responsible for, and the cost estimate should include:

A. Assessment of the building's structural integrity, roof condition and shading limitations. The Contractor will coordinate and hire the structural engineering review, if required, with a certified professional engineer with the building owner’s approval of date/time of inspection.

B. Securing all permits and approvals from governing agencies and prepare the utility interconnection application, as well as all labor, taxes, services, permit fees, utility interconnection costs, inspection fees, materials and equipment necessary to produce a fully operational solar photovoltaic system.

C. Oversee the sourcing of solar panels, inverters, balance of system (BOS), utility isolation switch, export meter pan, detected utility meter replacement, and other necessary equipment to assure, to the largest extent possible, that the domestic content requirements are satisfied, and the County obtains the

Investment Tax Credit.

D. Oversee the installation of the solar panels and out meters, through Permission to Operate.

E. Oversee compliance with Prevailing Wage and Apprenticeship requirements of Federal and State law.

F. Successfully have the solar PV system commissioned, including drone thermal imaging or equivalent, of the solar PV arrays prior to applicable Investment Tax Credit deadline.

G. Obtain Permission to Operate prior to applicable Investment Tax Credit deadline.

H. Prior to acceptance of the completed solar PV system installation, the Contractor shall provide copies of as-built drawings and electrical diagrams in hard copy and one electronic file in PDF format as further required in the Form of Contract.

I. Provide sets of operation, maintenance, and parts manuals for the solar PV system. The manual shall cover all components, options, and accessories supplied. It shall include maintenance, troubleshooting, and safety precautions specific to the supplied equipment.

J. Provide two (2) copies of all warranty information for the solar PV panels, racking, inverters and all associated equipment. Workmanship warranties shall be no less than five years.

K. Provide recommendations and information (such as terms and contracts) for a solar renewable energy credit (SREC) aggregator [if the client will own the SRECs].

L. Include and provide web-accessible monitoring software of the PV system generation output on a daily, monthly, and yearly basis.

4. PROPOSAL/ RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS

The County is not establishing page limits for the proposal; responses should be simply and economically prepared and should not include extraneous marketing materials or other unrequested information. You may reference different sections of your response in order to avoid substantial duplication of requested information. The County will receive submissions via PennBid (pennbid.bonfirehub.com) on or before 11:00 a.m., AUGUST 31, 2026. All questions should be submitted via PennBid in the vendor “VENDOR DISCUSSIONS” section.

The submission of a proposal shall be an indication that the respondent has investigated and satisfied him/herself as to the existing conditions, and the character, quality, and scope of the work to be performed. To receive consideration, proposals shall be made in accordance with the following general instruction:

4.1. PROPOSAL CONTENT & ORGANIZATION (REQUIRED TABS)

4.1.1 INTRODUCTIONS (No Tab Needed)

A. Title Page

a. Must include the following:

i. Name of this RFP.

ii. Name, address, telephone number, and email to the respondent.

iii. Name and title of person authorized to commit the respondent to contractual arrangements.

B. Table of Contents

a. Broken into sections and sub-sections.

C. Letter of Transmittal

a. Provide a cover letter explaining the Respondent’s understanding of the scope of services, a narrative as to why it is qualified to undertake the services described herein and any information about why it might have a competitive advantage over other Respondents in light of the timeline and requirements to obtain the ITC. The cover letter shall be signed by an individual authorized to contractually bind the Respondent.

b. Include with the cover letter, a statement identifying who will serve as the primary contact. The statement shall set forth brief details of the firm's principal activities, the number of personnel in the firm and the firm's location.

c. The proposal must list the location and address of the present, active office that will service and manage this contract.

4.1.2 ORGANIZATIONAL EXPERIENCE AND PERSONNEL QUALIFICATIONS (TAB 1)

The respondent shall provide the identity and the credentials of the principals and other key personnel working for the Contractor and their areas of responsibilities.

A. ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY AND EXPERIENCE

a. Describe the organization/company’s experience and capabilities providing EPC services to for-profit companies, not-for-profit companies and, in particular to municipal governments and government agencies, including ones of similar size to the County.

b. Confirm that the organization/company has successfully completed at least 20 projects between 50-500 kW-DC.

c. Confirm whether your organization/company has experience installing solar projects in Pennsylvania, and in PECO’s territory and/or adjacent states. State how many years your organization/company has been in business and how many of those years your company has been active in solar installation work.

d. Be specific and detail no more than five projects/contracts; description of work, size of installation, dates, locations, challenges and results. Include whether project was delivered on time, on budget and successfully in other respects.

i. Provide a list of (3) three references for whom similar services have been provided. Include the following in your response:

• Name of organization. Preference for government agency or not-for-profit.

• Contact person’s name, position, and current telephone number.

e. Confirm that your organization/company has sufficient bonding capacity for anticipated total cost of work from a surety and insurance company that is on the current Department of Treasury's Listing of Approved Sureties (Department Circular 570).

B. KEY PERSONNEL EXPERIENCE

a. Identify key staff your organization/company will assign to fulfill the contract requirements. Detail what roles each will have. Provide a synopsis describing the educational and work experience for each key staff member who would be assigned to the Solar Projects with a focus on experience with similar size and scope projects. Identify any subcontractors and do the same for key staff of the subcontractor.

b. Summarize what specialized expertise your team will bring, and how it meets the needs of this project.

c. Confirm that your company employs at least three NABCEP PVIP-Certified professional.

C. SUBCONTRACTORS AND PARTNERS

a. Identify all subcontractors on project. Summarize all key members/companies of the project team and provide brief explanation of their experience, including, but not limited to, subcontractors and/or partners assisting in the project. Indicate which party or person will serve as the main contact and project manager for the project, who is responsible for equipment procurement, who coordinates permit applications and inspection, who prepares the utility interconnection application, who serves as the on-site lead for the construction/installation during the installation, and who will be the client contact for operations and maintenance issues post installation.

Describe which party will be organizing legal review, and operations and maintenance.

4.1.3 PROJECT NARRATIVE (TAB 2)

A. Describe your approach to meet the needs of the project scope and requirements. Describe your general philosophy regarding EPC roles, specifically when managing government projects of similar size and scope.

Give specific examples of techniques that have proven successful and for which projects and agencies they were used.

B. Describe whether the Contractor has had a contract terminated for default during the past ten years?

a. All such incidents must be described. Termination for default is defined as notice to stop performance due to the Respondent’s nonperformance or poor performance; and the issue was either (a) not litigated or (b) litigated, and such litigation determined the Contractor to be in default. Present the Contractor’s position on matter. If no such terminations for default have been experienced by the Contractor in the past ten years, declare so. If the Contractor has had a contract terminated for convenience, nonperformance, non-allocation of funds, or any other reason which termination occurred before completion of the contract during the past five years, describe fully all such terminations.

C. Answer these key questions:

a. For the past 20 commercial solar projects your organization has worked on, have more than five of these solar projects you have worked on incurred delays of more than 90 days beyond your estimated timeline (for the portion of the project after interconnection approval, excluding customer delays or delays caused by the utility).

b. Has the Respondent or any of its successor firms filed for a voluntary or involuntary bankruptcy in the past five years?

c. Is your workmanship warranty at least five years?

A Contractor response that indicates that the requested information will only be provided, if and when, the Contractor is selected as the apparently successful Contractor is not an acceptable response.

4.1.4 PROJECT APPROACH (TAB 3)

Provide the following information regarding your project implementation approach:

A. Estimated size of the proposed PV system(s) (estimated nameplate capacity DC kW) and estimated first-year annual energy production under standard test conditions.

B. Basic description of the proposed components including PV panels (number, brand and wattage), inverters and racking, providing at least one estimate for a North American-manufactured PV panel in the proposal (can be presented as an additional cost adder), if not included in the base proposal.

C. Estimated number of Solar Renewal Energy Credits (SRECs) that will be produced each year through at least Year 10 and indicate which entity will own the SRECs.

D. Provide an illustration or preliminary design of the proposed layout of the solar array(s) on the County’s property using a solar industry standard design model, such as Helioscope or equivalent. [Detailed electrical and CAD drawings are not required for this proposal but will be necessary to provide to Owner if chosen for the final projects.]

4.1.5 PROJECT SCHEDULE (TAB 4)

Utilize the milestones below to provide a summary-level Critical Path Method schedule from design through construction administration and project close-out.

Description Estimated Start

Date

Duration of Task in Weeks

Estimated

Completion Date

Design & Engineering; Approval for

Interconnection

Procurement of Racking, Solar

Panels, Inverters & BOS

Installation/Construction Labor

Commissioning, Electrical Inspection and Interconnection Approval

Permission to Operate

A. Describe the Contractor’s schedule availability to work on the project and flexibility to provide the needed services throughout the Solar Projects.

B. Detail your firm's understanding of the challenges and barriers of successfully completing the Solar

Projects on time and on budget for a government agency of our size and proposed approach to overcome these barriers.

a. How will the Respondent eliminate or significantly mitigate any ITC risk to the County - the Project should be undertaken in a manner that makes it fully eligible for the ITC.

b. Respondents shall submit comments on the feasibility of the proposed schedule, identify threats to meet the project completion date, and recommend an alternate schedule describing rationale and schedule threat mitigation.

4.1.6 PRELIMINARY COST PROPOSAL (TAB 5)

In addition to completing ATTACHMENT B, include the following in the Preliminary Cost Proposal in an Excel Spreadsheet:

A. Estimated turnkey price of the proposed PV system(s) and unitary price ($/watt) exclusive of Federal

Investment Tax Credits or Direct Pay amounts expected under the Inflation Reduction Act. Include all scenarios that include all possible tax credit-equivalent reductions based on the IRA provisions for domestic content, prevailing wage, energy communities low-income communities, if applicable.

a. The itemized costs must be totaled to produce a contract price. If awarded a contract, the

Contractor is bound by this price in performing the work. The contract price may not be exceeded unless the contract is amended to allow for additional costs.

b. The Contractor's method of billing must be indicated. The preferred practice of the County is to pay Contractors quarterly; however, the County will consider paying on a more frequent basis as substantial portions of the work are completed, but not more than one time per month.

B. For any PPA proposal, include the PPA supply rate ($/kWh), an estimated return on investment calculation, including a 25-year cash flow estimate with annual savings, estimated or range of anticipated cost of electricity (in kWh) using an annual utility escalator. For the purpose, assume the Government

Center will be paying $.098 per kWh in 2028, and supply costs will increase by 3% per year for the first 6 years, and then 2% per year thereafter; for the Voting Machine Warehouse and Redwood Community

Center, assume that supply costs will increase by 3% per year each year, and a starting price per kWh of

$.098.

C. Estimated Power Purchase Agreement scenario(s), if any, with estimated cost compared to current and estimated future electricity prices (as outlined in Section 4.1.6 (B)). In addition to the above required information, for each PPA scenario included, please outline:

a. Term(s) in years of Power Purchase Agreements being offered,

b. Up-front (if any) cost to site host,

c. PPA initial rate per kWh for electricity,

d. PPA price escalator,

e. Option for host buyout, specifying earliest buyout year and cost,

f. Ownership of SRECs produced by proposed PV system,

g. Performance Guarantees,

h. True up Process,

i. Early Termination Provisions.

B. Responsibility for Operation and Maintenance and estimated costs for year one of operation. State annual escalation percentage for this service. Include a list of any exclusions from these estimated costs.

Operations and maintenance services include, but are not limited to:

a. Online monitoring,

b. Performance monitoring, notification, and troubleshooting, down time, predicted production,

c. Corrective maintenance to mitigate or minimize any risk to the system,

d. Annual system performance reports that compare actual production to expected,

e. Preventative maintenance and inspections to identify and fix problems before they occur, including thermal imaging for hot spots on the PV panels, as well as at all electrical termination points, manufacturer recommended maintenance, hardware torque checks, and array cleanings (if needed).

Provide assumptions used in price estimation, not otherwise mentioned above, including SREC price, derate factor, transformer upgrades, etc. If you assume that this project will need transformer upgrades, please provide cost scenarios, with and without transformer upgrades.

4.2 ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED

Checklist/Certification Form

(ATTACHMENT A) Entity Information Form

(ATTACHMENT B) Proposal Cost Form

(ATTACHMENT C) Non-Collusion Affidavit

(ATTACHMENT D) Ownership Disclosure Certification

(ATTACHMENT E) Insurance Requirement Acknowledgement Form

(ATTACHMENT F) Artificial Intelligence Disclosure Form

(ATTACHMENT G) Qualification Affidavit

(ATTACHMENT H) Submission Format

(ATTACHMENT I) Acknowledgement of Corrections, Additions or Deletions Form

(ATTACHMENT J) Statement of Indebtedness Form

(ATTACHMENT K) Agreement for Payment of Commodity/Service Form

(ATTACHMENT L) Letter of Intent

(ATTACHMENT M) Certificate of Good Standing/Subsistence Certificate

(ATTACHMENT N) Diversity Business Enterprise Program Form

(ATTACHMENT O) Form of Contract

(ATTACHMENT P) Political Contribution Disclosure Form (Pre-Award)

5. Evaluation, Review and Selection Process

5.1 PROPOSALS TO REMAIN SUBJECT TO ACCEPTANCE

RFP responses shall remain open for a period of sixty (60) calendar days from the stated submittal date. The owner will either award the contract within the applicable time period or reject all proposals.

The owner may extend the decision to award or reject all proposals beyond the sixty (60) calendar days when the proposals of any respondents who consent thereto may, at the request of the owner, be held for consideration for such longer period as may be agreed.

5.2 REJECTION OF PROPOSALS

The owner reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, or to reject any proposals if the evidence submitted by, or investigation of such respondent fails to satisfy the owner that such respondent is properly qualified to carry out the obligations of the RFP and to complete the work contemplated therein. The owner reserves the right to waive any minor informality in the RFP.

5.3 EVALUATION PROCESS

An evaluation team will review all proposals to determine if they satisfy the Proposal Requirements, determine if a proposal should be rejected and evaluate the proposals based upon the Evaluation Criteria. The highest-ranking respondent(s) may be invited to give an oral presentation. A selected Contractor will then be recommended to the governing body for award of contract, based on most advantageous price and other factors.

5.4 EVALUATION CRITERIA

All proposals will be reviewed and evaluated. Financial terms will be important but, will not be the sole determining factor in the award. In general, the proposals will be evaluated based on, but not limited to, the general evaluation criteria stated below and the completeness, clarity and content of the proposal. If finalists presentations are required, they will be undertaken. The committee’s selection of one applicant will be based upon several weighted criteria, including:

A. Pricing (35%)

a. Cost per watt installed, inclusive of known infrastructure upgrades or PECO requirements,

b. Overall cash flow savings projected using County cost baseline.

B. Qualifications and Experience (25%)

a. Relevant experience of key personnel, in order to assess background, capacity, and experience.

b. Relevance of reference, including performance on other county, state, or municipal projects,

c. Knowledge, experience, and an established track -record of accomplishing projects of similar size, nature, and complexity.

C. Project Schedule and Approach (15%)

a. Quality and detail of proposed project schedule and approach,

b. Ability to complete the projects and obtain permission to operate in time to secure the Investment Tax Credit,

c. Proposed alternate means of procurement of equipment to accelerate the project timeline.

D. Value Added (15%)

a. Value proposition of operations and maintenance contract proposal, warranties, service, and additional offerings.

E. Quality of the Proposal (10%)

a. Demonstrated understanding of the project,

b. Total scope of services provided,

c. Proposal presentation.

***The County encourages proposals from small firms, DBE firms, minority firms and firms that have not previously performed work for the County.

The final selected…