A14_Sources_Sought_Notice_1.pdf

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) on behalf of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has a requirement for operations and maintenance (O&M)services of a newly constructed CO2 refrigeration plant and all associated subsystems.

THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE ONLY FOR MARKET RESEARCH PURPOSES.

THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP), REQUEST FOR QUOTATIONS(RFQ) OR INVITATION FOR

BID (IFB).

NO FORMAL SOLICITATION IS BEING REQUESTED UNDER THIS NOTICE.

This Sources Sought Notice is for market research purposes to identify parties having an interest in and resources to support this requirement for operations and maintenance services of a newly constructed C02 refrigeration plant and supporting systems located in building 810, Denver Federal Center, Denver, Colorado.

The result of this market research will contribute to determining the method of procurement. The Government will review the information requested in this announcement based on the responses to this sources sought notice/market research, this requirement may be set-aside for small businesses or procured through full and open competition.

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 238220 (Plumbing, Heating, and Air Conditioning Contractors) and the size standard is

$19.0 Million.

The following is a brief description of services that are required to be performed but not limited to:

A. INTRODUCTION

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) on behalf of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) manages the NSF Ice Core Facility (NSF-ICF). This facility is located on the north side of E Bay, building 810, on the Denver Federal Center, Denver, Colorado.

The NSF-ICF has a requirement for operations and maintenance (O&M) services of a newly constructed CO2 refrigeration plant and all associated subsystems.

The NSF-ICF CO2 refrigeration plant and associated subsystems was commissioned on July 3rd 2025, followed by a nine-month run-in period. From April 2026 to June 2026 ice cores were moved from the old facility to the new NSF-ICF.

B. BACKGROUND

The NSF-ICF CO2 refrigeration plant is a highly specialized facility in Denver, CO. It stores over 30,000 meters of ice cores that have been drilled from the world’s ice-covered regions for scientific investigation of the Earth’s past climate and atmosphere. To date, the cost of acquiring the samples stored in the NSF-ICF CO2 refrigeration plant is approximately $750M. Due to lack of accessibility to collection sites and the high cost of redrilling, recollection of many of these cores is impossible.

The ice core samples must be stored at temperatures well below freezing (-34C) and within a narrow temperature range to maintain sample integrity. It is not enough that the cores be prevented from melting, if the stored samples warm to approach the freezing point, components of the old air and other trapped substances in the ice may migrate out of the ice destroying the scientific integrity of the ice and rendering the samples useless. In addition, if the temperatures vary too much, even within a range of subfreezing temperatures, the ice can undergo disastrous structural and chemical changes, again affecting the scientific integrity of the samples.

C. SCOPE

The NSF-ICF CO2 refrigeration plant is an extremely complicated and custom facility utilizing new trans critical CO2 technology and numerous associated controls and supporting subsystems.

The Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Contractor shall provide all materials, supervision, labor, tools, equipment, technical recommendations and travel necessary to accomplish on-site preventative maintenance, regular maintenance, and emergency response services for the NSF-ICF CO2 refrigeration plant and associated subsystems.

The Contractor shall source and procure appropriate replacement parts necessary to conduct repairs. Invoices shall be submitted by the Contractor monthly in arrears. Repair or replacement parts, all billable supplies, and labor shall be invoiced separately. Parts and supplies shall be identified, and their acquisition shall be approved by the on-site NSF-ICF Technical Curator or USGS Program Coordinator via e-mail confirmation prior to procurement.

D. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

The NSF-ICF CO2 refrigeration plant and associated subsystems is required to always be operational, to have all systems and subsystems be fully functional, and to operate within the prescribed temperature specifications required by the NSF-

ICF.

The NSF-ICF CO2 refrigeration plant must be serviced and repaired by qualified technicians trained specifically on CO2 (R477) refrigeration systems with the ability to procure and identify the parts necessary for quick repairs and be on site as needed to perform the service or repair.

Refrigeration equipment must be repaired as soon as possible (see table for response times in Section E.5 EMERGENCY RESPONSE SERVICES) after a failure or during regularly scheduled maintenance to limit down time. In addition, the O&M Contractor must perform necessary repairs based on procedures described in the CAR 112E Installation and Operation Manual, technical expertise, or training received from the installation contractor. The O&M Contractor must maintain a spare parts inventory for prompt repairs.

Due to the complexity of the NSF-ICF CO2 refrigeration plant, the O&M Contractor shall meet monthly (formally or informally on site) with the NSF-ICF Curators to review system operations. Meetings are to ensure the NSF-ICF Curator is aware of any operations that fall outside the technical specifications described in the CAR 112E Installation and Operation Manual such as CO2 refrigeration plant issues, operational inconsistencies, and negative trends in CO2 refrigeration plant over time.

All work performed under this contract shall be subject to review by the NSF-ICF Technical Curator and USGS Program Coordinator. Work not compliant with manufacturer technical specifications shall be corrected at no additional cost to the U.S. Government.

All work performed under this contract shall be subject to applicable local, state, and federal codes and regulations in force at the time the work is completed.

All work performed under this contract shall take place at the NSF Ice Core Facility located on the north side of E Bay, building 810, on the Denver Federal Center, Denver, Colorado.

The NSF-ICF maintains refrigeration using a M&M Carnot trans critical CO2 refrigeration system (CO2 system). The CO2 system ensures temperatures remain within technical operating requirements, so the integrity of ice core samples is preserved. A description of the system, as well as the technical operating requirements and associated required O&M Contractor activities, are described in the following sections.

D.1 SYSTEM DESCRIPTION

The CO2 system consists of the following major components:

• Two sets of Transcritical CO2 compressor racks

• Two Gas coolers/condensers

• 8 Evaporators

• Flash gas bypass system

• High-pressure controls and valves

• Heat reclaim system for hydronic floor application

• Electronic expansion valves

• System controllers and automation

• Safety systems and pressure relief devices

• CO2 leak detection system

The CO2 system includes an integrated hydronic floor system. The hydronic floor system covers approximately 6000 square feet divided into 24 independently controlled zones. The hydronic floor system consists of the following major components:

• Heat exchanger interface with the CO2 system

• Primary and secondary circulation pumps

• Distribution manifolds

• Hydronic piping network embedded in floor

• Zone control valves and actuators

• Temperature sensors and controls

• Expansion tanks and pressure regulation

• Water treatment system

The CO2 system includes an integrated control system with the following major components:

• Building Management System (BAS) interface

• CO2 system controller

• Hydronic system controller

• Remote monitoring capabilities

• Alarm and notification systems

• Data logging and trend analysis tools

• Energy management controls

The CO2 system is comprised of hermetically sealed CO2 compressors, control modules and oil separators on two separate racks, two Gunter adiabatic gas coolers adjacent to the mechanical room at an elevation higher than the mechanical room to utilize gravity flow, a digital control system that monitors the system, plus eight evaporators. The evaporators are in three separate refrigerated spaces (Ice Core Storage, Examination, Staging) and are fully redundant. All evaporators are controlled via evaporator control and power panels located in the machine room.

The CO2 system includes heat pumps and a monitored subfloor hydronic system, an associated HVAC and filtration system, stainless steel piping system, and heat traced condensate drains and monitoring.

The CO2 system is monitored by a CO2 leak detection system.

D.2 TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

The O&M Contractor shall perform the operational requirements to meet or exceed the manufacturer’s performance standards.

For Continuous Operation, the O&M Contractor shall:

• Ensure 24 hour, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year operation of the NSF-ICF CO2 refrigeration plant and associated subsystems, including holidays, through maintenance activities, and responding to and resolving on-call issues.

• Maintain system uptime of no less than 99.9%, excluding scheduled maintenance, through monitoring, preventive maintenance, and regular maintenance.

For Energy Optimization, the O&M Contractor shall:

• Continuously optimize system operations through preventive and regular maintenance activities to minimize energy consumption.

• Adjust operating parameters through preventive and regular maintenance activities based on ambient conditions, facility load, and utility rates to minimize energy consumption.

• Maximize utilization of heat recovery for hydronic floor system through preventive and regular maintenance activities.

For Remote Monitoring and Control, the O&M Contractor shall:

• Monitor system parameters remotely 24 hours, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year.

• Respond to alarms, evaluate issues, repair as appropriate, and ensure technical specifications are met.

• Make adjustments to system parameters as needed to ensure technical specifications are met.

• Maintain secure access protocols for remote system access to ensure systems are not corrupted by external entities.

• Ensure backup monitoring systems are in place in case of primary system failure.

For Seasonal Adjustments, the Contractor shall:

• Optimize the CO2 system head pressure control strategies in May for summer and November for winter operation.

• Adjust zone temperature setpoints in May for summer and November for winter operation per NSF-ICF Curator direction.

THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION. ALL COST ASSOCIATED WITH PROVIDING INFORMATION AS REQUESTED

BY THIS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE SHALL BE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CONTRACTOR.

SUBMISSION IS VOLUNTARY.

This is NOT a Request for Proposal (RFP), Request for Quotation (RFQ) or Invitation for Bid (IFB) and does not constitute any commitment by the Government. Responses to this source sought notice will be used by the Government to make appropriate acquisition decisions. All interested sources must respond to future solicitation announcements separately from responses to this market survey. Any solicitation that may be issued will be posted on the Federal Business Opportunities website and no paper copies will be provided.

Responses to this announcement are requested from (1) SBA certified Small Business HUBZone firms; (2) Small Business firms certified by a Small Business Administration (SBA) district or regional office for participation in the 8(a) program; (3) Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned small Business firms; (4) Small Businesses.

In response to this announcement, please indicate your firm's socioeconomic status (e.g. small business, service-disabled veteran-owned, women owned, HUBZone, etc.) This information will assist the Government in determining how small businesses can fit into the acquisition strategy.

A firm is considered small under NAICS code 238220 – Plumbing, Heating, and Air Conditioning Contractors. Any information submitted is voluntary. If sufficient interest and capability is not received from firms in categories (1) through

(4) above, any solicitation may be issued as unrestricted without further consideration.

Interested small business firms shall submit (1) NAME, ADDRESS, and PHONE NUMBER OF THE FIRM, and UEI

NUMBER.

Your company must have an active UEI number and be registered on-line at the System for Award Management (SAM).

You will also be required to provide your small business status information either via the RFQ or the On-line Representations and Certifications (ORCA) also located at the SAM website before an award to your company can be made. Your on-line ORCA registration will cover any/all of your offers to the Federal Government and only needs updated annually.

All responses must be submitted NLT August 12, 2026 at 12:00pm MT via e-mail to: jennifer_rollin@ios.doi.gov.