MARAD META Great Lakes Project RFP-693JF72250008.pdf

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Maritime Administration A Feasibility Study on Future Energy Options for Great Lakes Shipping Request for Proposals (RFP) The Maritime Administration (MARAD)/Office of Environment & Innovation/Maritime Environmental and Technical Assistance (META) program, is issuing this request for proposals (RFP) for conducting a feasibility study on the future energy options for Great Lakes Shipping.

The work will be done by employing a multifactor approach to create a projection of the future energy options for the Great Lakes shipping industry. The projection will be based on the review of applicable green technologies, and a ranking of a shortlist of potential alternative fuels and power options that are feasible and practical in order to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve energy efficiency for existing and/or future ship operations from 2022 to 2050. This study will evaluate a variety of alternative fuels (such as synthetic natural gas, methanol, ammonia, hydrogen) including biofuels (such as ethanol, bio-methane, bio-ethane, bio-propane, bio-diesel etc.) and power options as part of full-electric and hybrid propulsion and power generation (shore power, solar photovoltaic, fuel cells, batteries). It will also evaluate benefits and barriers of the alternative fuels and power options and map the availability and implementation timeline for these energy options for Great Lakes shipping from now until 2050. This study will also describe the potential for all these energy options to meet domestic and international environmental regulations.

It will serve as a reference for Great Lakes operators, technology developers (such as engine manufacturers), and relevant stakeholders planning to consider alternative energy solutions for their existing or future fleet.

A. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Over the past several years, the META Program has partnered with government agencies, industry, and academia to investigate, test, and demonstrate the use of alternative fuels and technologies to reduce air emissions and improve energy efficiency from vessels, ports, and marine terminal operations. Recently, MARAD has begun to explore broader energy efficiency and decarbonization efforts within the maritime sector that could support multiple-use operations at the vessel/terminal nexus. This RFP builds on previous efforts (see “Status of the U.S.-Flag Great Lakes Water Transportation Industry, 2013” by MARAD and the “Energy Efficiency White Paper, 2016” by the Ship Operations Cooperative Program) and is designed to investigate the future energy options of the Great Lakes shipping industry including local port infrastructure and bunkering solutions which will support green technologies.

B. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

MARAD will provide full funding through a cooperative agreement(s) for the execution of the above-mentioned feasibility study. Collaborative partnerships with other entities such as industry, ports/terminals, maritime organizations, and state or local governments are highly encouraged.

This announcement is an expression of interest only and does not commit MARAD to make any award. The total amount of funding under the RFP will be up to $350,000.

This RFP is not aimed at advancing research and development or experimental technology, although existing components can be combined in novel approaches to reach the objective.

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MARAD understands there are different technologies and commercial aspects that need to be considered for this type of project such as the status of the local shipping industry, the status of port infrastructure, availability of technologies and fuels (marine internal combustion engines, fuel cells, etc.), as well as application and operational constraints. Overall, it is important that this study be based on a practical approach towards supporting the Great Lakes shipping industry and serve as a reference for technology developers and relevant stakeholders’ planning to consider alternative energy solutions for their existing or future fleets.

Upon completion of this feasibility study, the awardee is required to provide a detailed report of the project that provides the profile of the Great Lakes shipping industry (ship types, size, age, propulsion modes, operational routes, port infrastructure, bunkering operations, etc.), the approach that was used for the review and ranking of all energy options, and the results in tabular and graphic format. The report will be publicly available and posted to the META webpage.

Proposals must provide sufficient, verifiable, and detailed data that describes the:

• Proposed method on how the Profiling of the Great Lakes shipping industry will be carried out and implemented.

• Proposed method on how the Profiling of the Great Lakes port infrastructure and bunkering operations will be carried out and implemented.

• Proposed method to do a technology review and evaluation of alternative energy options (including benefits and barriers).

• Proposed method for providing a projection of alternative fuels and power options (including mapping the availability and implementation timeline).

• Description of alternative fuels and power options that will be examined.

• Description of the potential to meet applicable domestic and international environmental regulations (such as EPA marine vessels regulations and MARPOL).

To be considered for selection, the study must be able to be completed within 15.0 months from the time of award.

MARAD reserves the right to fund some or none of the proposals received under this RFP.

MARAD provides no funding for reimbursement of proposal development costs. Technical and cost proposals (or any other material) submitted in response to this RFP will not be returned. It is the policy of MARAD to treat all proposals submitted under this RFP as sensitive competitive information and to disclose their contents only for the purposes of evaluation. To be specifically noted that MARAD reserves the right to award to other proposals if a selected firm(s) is not registered and current with SAM.gov at the time of award.

C. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

1. Eligible Applicants. MARAD is seeking to provide full funding through cooperative agreement(s) for the proposal that provide sufficient, verifiable and detailed data on how to reach the objective of this feasibility study.

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2. MARAD will fund 100% of the total cost of the project. Proposals must include a detailed cost breakdown that shows how Federal funds will be used for the project. Please see Section D.2 for information on proposal requirements.

3. Systems for Award Management (SAM) Requirements. MARAD will not make an award to an applicant until the applicant has complied with all applicable unique entity identifier and SAM requirements and if an applicant has not fully complied with the requirements by the time MARAD is ready to make an award, MARAD may determine that the applicant is not qualified to receive an award and use that determination as a basis for making an award to another applicant. Please see Section D.3 for information on SAM requirements. MARAD will not make an award to any applicant with an exclusion in SAM.

D. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

1. Address to Request Application Package. This RFP contains all the information needed to submit a proposal and be considered for award. No specific application form or other materials need to be obtained from MARAD.

2. Content and Form of Application.

Proposals must include a detailed description of the project that provides:

Review and Selection Process:

The proposals will be evaluated against the following criteria:

1) Clear and accurate methodology for documenting the profile of the Great Lakes shipping industry as well as port infrastructure and bunkering operations.

2) Proposed method for evaluation of alternative energy options.

3) Proposed method for projection of alternative fuels and power options.

4) The applicant’s capabilities, related experience, techniques, or unique combinations of these that are integral factors for achieving the proposal objectives.

5) Scope and extent of partnerships with the Great Lakes shipping industry and their role in the project.

Proposals are limited to 15 pages and must be received within forty-five (45) days of the publication of this notice.

E. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

1. Review and Selection Process.

MARAD has set-up an internal review team to evaluate all proposals that are submitted under this announcement. All eligible proposals will be evaluated within 3 weeks after the closing date. If the review team has any questions on an individual proposal, it will notify the applicant for clarification.

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Review and Selection Process:

1) Clear and accurate methodology for documenting the profile of the Great Lakes shipping industry as well as port infrastructure and bunkering operations.

2) Proposed method for evaluation of alternative energy options.

3) Proposed method for projection of alternative fuels and power options.

4) The applicant’s capabilities, related experience, techniques, or unique combinations of these that are integral factors for achieving the proposal objectives.

5) Scope and extent of partnerships with the Great Lakes shipping industry and their role in the project.

Proposals are limited to 15 pages and must be received within forty-five (45) days of the publication of this notice.

F. FEDERAL AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

1. Federal Award Notices.

The successful applicant(s) will be notified by MARAD’s Office of Acquisition via telephone;

however; the telephone call is not the actual award or the authorization to begin performance. All awards will be made by a cooperative agreement signed by MARAD’s Agreement/Grants Officer.

After an award, has been made a MARAD representative from the Office of Environment will notify the awardee to set-up a kick-off meeting for the project.

Unsuccessful applicants will be notified via email.

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements.

Applicants are advised to review 2. C.F.R. Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Costs Principles and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards as supplemented by 2 C.F.R. Part 1201, for applicable administrative and national policy requirements. For a copy of the general terms and conditions of the Federal award made under this RFP, please contact Kelly B. Mitchell-Carroll at k.mitchell-carroll@dot.gov. Federal awards made under RFP may include additional terms that are specific to the project, including without limitation awardee information, project description, funding details and appropriate data rights clauses.

3. Reporting.

Applicants are advised to review 2 C.F.R. Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Costs Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, as supplemented by 2 C.F.R. Part 1201, for applicable reporting requirements. Federal awards made under this RFP may include additional reporting requirements that are appropriate for the specific project to be funded by

MARAD.

mailto:k.mitchell-carroll@dot.gov

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G. FEDERAL AWARDING AGENCY CONTACT

For any questions relating to the technical or programmatic aspects of this RFP, please contact Vasileios Tzelepis, Marine Engineer & Environmental Specialist, at vasileios.tzelepis@dot.gov.

For any questions about the administration of this funding opportunity and any awards, please contact Kelly B. Mitchell-Carroll at k.mitchell-carroll@dot.gov.

H. OTHER INFORMATION

Applicants must identify all proprietary information in its submission. MARAD is not obligated to make any Federal award as a result of this RFP.

mailto:vasileios.tzelepis@dot.gov mailto:k.mitchell-carroll@dot.gov