National Laboratory of the Rockies Managed and Operated by the Alliance for Energy Innovation, LLC

Request for Proposals (RFP) Number RFX-2026-10006

“Community Microgrid Assistance Partnership Direct Funding Opportunity”

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)

READ THIS DOCUMENT CAREFULLY

This solicitation is being conducted under the procedures for competitive subcontracts established by the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR). NLR will award a subcontract based on the following:

BEST VALUE SELECTION

All Statement of Work (SOW) requirements being met with the best combination of:

• Technical factors (based on qualitative merit criteria), and

• Evaluated price (or cost)

Issue Date: 5/12/2026 Due Date: 7/2/2026 Time Due: 2:00 Mountain Time

Technical questions must be received in writing no later than 5/28/2026

Written questions concerning this solicitation document and its requirements will be answered in writing. In response to technical questions, NLR will issue an amendment to this solicitation document that will formally provide all the questions and answers. All recipients of the solicitation document will receive responses to questions.

1. Solicitation Type Best Value Selection Firm Fixed Price, Subcontract

NAICS Code and Small Business Size Standard

Code Classification Size Standard 541690 Other Scientific and Technical

Consulting Services $19,000,000 in annual receipts

• Dollar amounts in millions of dollars are generally reflective of a 5-year average total annual receipts.

Annual receipts are calculated in accordance with 13 CFR 121.104.

• Average Number of Employee Counts: This is generally the average number of people employed for each pay period over the business’s latest 24 calendar months. Number of employees are calculated in accordance with 13 CFR 121.106.

Information Regarding Small Business Size Certification

Offerors shall certify that the size and socioeconomic status representations submitted in their SAM.gov registration are current, accurate, and complete as of the date of their offer in response to this solicitation, in accordance with FAR 52.219-9(c)(2)(ii)(B), by completing the ‘Small Business Size Certification’ (12/26/2025) form found in ‘Appendix/Form’ section.

If an Offeror is not registered in SAM.gov, the Offeror certifies that its self-certification of size and socio-economic status, as provided in Attachment 3 – Small Business Certification Form is current, accurate, and complete as of the date of its offer by completing the ‘Small Business Size Certification’ (12/26/2025) form found in ‘Appendix/Form’ section.

SUBMIT OFFERS TO AND REQUEST INFORMATION FROM THE NLR RFP CONTACT BELOW

2. NLR RFP Contact Kyndall Jackson, Subcontract Administrator National Laboratory of the Rockies 15013 Denver West Parkway, MS: RSF030 Golden, CO 80401

Email: Kyndall.Jackson@nlr.gov

Electronic copies of forms and appendices can be found at:

http://www.nlr.gov/workingwithus/standard-terms.html

Procurement Forms | NLR

3. Program and Project description:

Program Overview

The Community Microgrid Assistance Partnership (C-MAP) is an effort through the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Electricity (OE) to expand American’s access to affordable energy, strengthen grid reliability, and bolster national security. The program supports the implementation of innovative OE-funded research to improve energy delivery to Americans living and working in rural and remote areas that have less reliable energy systems and some of the highest energy costs in the nation. Through this effort, DOE-OE provides direct funding, access to technical experts, and educational resources to energy providers and partners to build, operate, and enhance microgrid systems that improve the affordability, reliability, and security of electricity in rural and remote areas of the U.S.

The 2026 C-MAP solicitation aims to support rural and remote communities to:

• Develop and implement multi-community support efforts to better support or develop advanced microgrid energy systems

• Develop detailed engineering designs and financial assessments in support of developing advanced microgrid systems

• Expand collaboration between energy providers and large load energy users, with a goal to expand industrial development in rural areas

• Assess and improve the operation of existing microgrid energy systems.

This call for proposals will support energy providers, local governments and U.S. industry in remote areas to improve the operational efficiency of existing or development of new microgrid energy systems. This solicitation uses the U.S. Department of Energy definition of a microgrid: “a group of interconnected loads and distributed energy resources within clearly defined electrical boundaries that acts as a single controllable entity.”

This solicitation targets existing or proposed microgrids which experience challenges with cost, reliability, resilience, and/or power quality. The microgrids may be electrically islanded (not connected to an external electricity infrastructure) or, if connected to external electrical infrastructure, such as electric transmission or distribution feeders, must at times operate independently of that external energy system.

mailto:Kyndall.Jackson@nlr.gov https://www.nlr.gov/workingwithus/forms.html

Projects awarded through this effort should demonstrate innovations or common configurations that should be applicable and replicable across other microgrid applications. Demonstrating the viability of advanced microgrids in rural and remote areas has the potential to improve energy affordability while expanding energy abundance and improving the competitiveness of local industries, a critical condition for rural communities and America’s long-term success. Competitively selected proposals will receive direct funding to complete design work on proposed projects, implement low-cost system improvements, or increase “community readiness” to implement capital projects through research, analysis, direct investment, or the development of plans to secure additional funding elsewhere.

For consumers or businesses that are currently connected to external electrical infrastructure but are looking to implement a microgrid to improve the reliability, resilience, and/or quality of electric energy service, they must demonstrate significant or disproportionate prevalence and/or duration of power outages when compared to U.S. averages. This solicitation is not intended to support projects that focus strictly on energy resilience, such as resiliency hubs or other emergency service focused facility resiliency efforts.

C-MAP Award Eligibility

The following types of U.S.-based entities are eligible to participate as a prime offeror:

• Non-profit entities, including energy cooperatives.

• State and local governmental entities.

• Any federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes and villages, inclusive of any

Alaska Native village or regional corporation as defined in or established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.

The following types of U.S.-based entities are not eligible to participate:

• Entities and individuals publicly banned from doing business with the U.S. government, such as entities and individuals debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded from or ineligible for participating in Federal programs.

• Entities owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of a government of a country of risk.

• Entity of Concern (as defined in section 10114 of Public Law 117-167 [42 U.S.C 18912])1.

• Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDC’s) (though technical support from

FFRDC’s may be requested as described in section 10.n.)

Projects are expected to be implemented in collaboration with partners, including technical contributors, local power suppliers, and industrial or other large energy consumers as applicable and warranted by the specific project. Quality of partnerships will be evaluated within scoring criteria but are expected to be demonstrated through letters of support or other documentation.

Additional criteria:

• Topic areas 1 to 4: From or directly representing specific communities operating in remote, rural2 and island regions of Alaska, Hawai’i, or contiguous United States. U.S. Territories are not eligible.

• Topic area 5: From or directly representing specific U.S. business operating commercial or industrial facilities or commercial or industrial operations in remote, rural3 and island regions of Alaska, Hawai’i, or contiguous United States. Facilities or operations in U.S. Territories are not eligible.

• Supports an electrically isolated microgrid or set of consumers, government organizations, industry or national security assets that 1) is not electrically connected to an external electrical infrastructure or 2) is connected to existing electrical infrastructure but experiences repeated and prolonged energy

1 Found at: PUBLIC LAW 117–167—AUG. 9, 2022, SEC. 10114. RESEARCH SECURITY, page 105 of 394 2 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, Public Law No: 117-58 (11/15/2021), Section 40103(c) defines rural or remote areas as a “city, town, or unincorporated area that has a population of not more than 10,000 inhabitants.”

3 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, Public Law No: 117-58 (11/15/2021), Section 40103(c) defines rural or remote areas as a “city, town, or unincorporated area that has a population of not more than 10,000 inhabitants.”

https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ167/PLAW-117publ167.pdf#page=105 outages4 or poor energy supply such that the implementation of a microgrid could increase power affordability, availability, or reliability.

• Proposes to reduce or, at a minimum, stabilize energy costs.

• Applications must identify at least one area in the United States with a population of not more than

10,000 (using the 2020 Census Bureau figures) that will be involved with or receive measurable benefit from the proposed microgrid development, integration, or advancement, including outcomes led by industrial or other large energy consumers (Topic Area 5). The identified area must be either: (a) a city, town or other unincorporated municipality or (b) a Census Designated Place (CDP) or similarly discrete and identifiable community that is not located within an incorporated municipality.

• Provides energy services to an area where current residential price of electricity (cents per kWh) are 150% of national average (26.17 cent per kWh based on January 2026 Energy Information Administration Average Price of Electricity to Ultimate Residential Customers5), 125% of state average cost for the state in which the project will be deployed (based on February 2026 (or more recent) Energy Information Administration Average Price of Electricity to Ultimate Residential Customers6) or justification that retail power cost is not an accurate assessment of high electricity costs (e.g. economic damages resulting from down time). For Topic Area 5, estimated price of power for potential microgrid being assessed (exclusive of outside support).

• Is willing to provide information on current and future energy costs, availability, reliability and power quality to help demonstrate the improvements in energy service provided by the proposed project, allowing other communities, industries, or businesses to make more informed decisions.

• Is willing to share experiences, demonstrating common configurations or developed practices, that will accelerate the advancement or replication of microgrid energy systems.

• Intends to use certified, listed, or commercially available technology in any project development.

“Industrial energy consumer” refers to energy-intensive processing, production, distribution, or services, including but not limited to mining, manufacturing, enterprise scale data centers, or national security installations.

“Measurable benefits” may include but are not limited to reduced or stabilized electricity customer rates, improved customer reliability (SAIDI/SAIFI), increased local economic activity, increased local permanent full-time jobs, or improved disaster preparedness.

Topic Areas

The 2026 Community Microgrid Development Partnership Awards consist of five (5) topic areas:

1. Regional Microgrid Coordination To help energy service providers from multiple communities collaborate to improve the operations of, or development opportunities for, separate microgrid power systems for their independent communities.

2. Microgrid Integration with Large Load Energy Consumers To support collaboration between utilities operating community microgrids and adjacent large load energy consumers which operate, or plan to operate, independent power systems.

3. Microgrid Development To assist individual communities with completing detailed design efforts for a new, or major retrofit of an existing, microgrid power system.

4 An explicit requirement or definition for the length of a power outage that is required to meet these criteria is not provided because the impacts of an energy outage is very contextual and not well captured by standard power system reliability metrics. The offeror should provide this context as part of the project description as needed to justify meeting these criteria.

5 U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, January 2026. Table 5.6.A.

Average Price of Electricity to Ultimate Customers by End-Use Sector, January 2026 residential electricity costs.

https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia861/zip/f8612024.zip 6 U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, January 2026. Table 5.6.A.

Average Price of Electricity to Ultimate Customers by End-Use Sector, residential electricity costs.

https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php?t=epmt_5_6_a

4. Microgrid Transformation To equip individual communities to assess, design, and implement innovative microgrid improvements to operational microgrid systems.

5. Microgrid Assessment for Industrial or other Large Load Energy Consumers To assist individual large energy consumers to develop or advance microgrid systems, expanding energy availability while lowering costs.

One (1) or two (2) awards are expected for each topic area with up to eight (8) awards across all topic areas.

Total funding for this solicitation is expected to be $2.5 million.

Proposal submissions should address individual topic areas. Do not submit proposals that combine topic areas. Prime offerors may submit up to one proposal within each topic area. Collaborators or lower-tier contractors may be part of multiple proposals. See item 10f.

Topic areas are described, associated work articulated, and deliverables identified in the Statement of Work (Attachment 1 – Statement of Work: Community Microgrid Development Assistance Partnership Awards Direct Funding Opportunity, 2026). Proposals should respond to expectations set forth in the Statement of Work. The Statement of Work, including deliverables and due dates, may be modified or expanded according to project needs. Any modifications identified by the offeror should be laid out explicitly within the proposal text. Analyses completed prior to proposal submission which fulfill select requirements or deliverables as stated within the Statement of Work may be leveraged within the proposed project plan but should be valued commensurate only to new efforts within the proposed project; otherwise, Statement of Work should be modified to effectively advance microgrid operations, development, or improvements. Final details are expected to be clarified through contracting process if applicable. Statement of Work and deliverable occurrence table are subject to NLR approval so that contents remain consistent with the stated C-MAP program goals, project outcomes align with expectations by topic area, and report quality and associated compensation is commensurate with level of effort.

If selected, this contract will be implemented as firm fixed price subcontract (See Attachment 2: Sample Subcontract Schedule: Firm Fixed Price) meaning that payments will be made based on the deliverable schedule provided by the offeror (Attachment 4: Sample Deliverable Schedule) which aligns with the proposed project plan and Statement of Work (Attachment 1).

Technical assistance facilitated through NLR is available to support project success when specific gaps in technical expertise cannot be filled by project teams. The gap in expertise and need for support outside the proposed project team should be clearly specified within the proposal. Potential cost of technical assistance should not be included in proposed project budgets. Need and availability of resources to serve the identified technical assistance will be evaluated in the proposal review and selection process.

To support this scope of work and help ensure project success, the offeror may request technical support from C-MAP partner organizations, including but not limited to NLR, Pacific Northwest National Laboratories, Sandia National Laboratories, the Alaska Center for Energy and Power, Island Institute, Sundance Corporation, and the Renewable Energy Alaska Project. Technical support requests should only be made for work that is not commonly or commercially available unless there is a clearly articulated reason why support from a specific C- MAP program partner provides expanded benefit to the project as compared to an independent private contractor funded through the award itself. Offerors who are developing proposals may contact C-MAP partner organizations to obtain a better understanding of potential technical support as they develop their proposals.

The gap in expertise and need for support outside the proposed project team should be clearly articulated within the proposal. Requests for technical support should not be included in proposed project budgets. Additional technical support may be available over the course of project implementation, provided on an as needed basis based on available resources and staff. Technical support may include, but is not limited to microgrid modeling, design, controls troubleshooting, contract review, or technical facilitation.

Intended Use of Awards

Solicitation awards may be used to support any phase of microgrid development or operation, from needs assessment to operational workforce training. This includes, but is not limited to, facilitating consumer engagement; load baselining; power system modeling; resource adequacy; needs or risk assessment; policy analysis; planning; capacity expansion modeling; technoeconomic feasibility assessment; siting prioritization;

controls modeling and analysis; financial analysis; design engineering; financing; interconnection and utility engagement; procurement and permitting; construction (exclusive of equipment); operational management;

and training.

Contract funds should be focused on labor (prime applicant, subrecipient, or contractor), travel, non-durable materials or instrumentation. DOE provided project funds cannot be used to cover legal expenses, software licenses, or the purchase of computers, programmable logic controllers or other durable goods or equipment; essentially any material with a useful life longer than the term of the award. These expenses can be included within the proposal to provide context of the larger effort but must be identified as applicant funded.

All costs must be allowable and allocable under the terms of the Federal Acquisition Regulations and DOE Acquisitions Regulations.

4. Proposed subcontract award and period of performance

The Alliance for Energy Innovation, LLC has entered into Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308 with the Department of Energy (DOE), an agency of the U.S. Government, for the management and operation of the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR). All references to “NLR” in this solicitation shall mean the Alliance for Energy Innovation, LLC.

The anticipated period of performance of execution varies by topic area up to twenty-four (24) months but can be modified by the applicants. The maximum award amount and expected period of performance per topic area is as follows:

Topic Area Maximum Amount per Award (from NLR)

Anticipated number of awards

Expected Period of Performance

1: Regional Microgrid Coordination

$200,000 base plus $75,000 per community up to 5 communities. Maximum awa rd of $425,000 for three communities up to $575,000 for five communities

1 or 2 24 months

2: Microgrid Integration with Large Load Energy Consumers

Maximum $300,000

1 or 2 18 months

3: Microgrid Development Maximum $300,000 1 or 2 18 months 4: Microgrid Transformation Maximum $400,000 1 or 2 18 months 5: Microgrid Assessment for Industrial or other Large Load Energy Consumers

Maximum $200,000, with an additional minimal 20% offeror price participation

1 or 2 12 months

Topic Area 5: A minimum price participation of 20% is required for the Assessment of Microgrids for Industrial or other Large Energy Consumers topic area (Topic Area 5). Price participation is defined as a percentage of the total allowable and allocable costs under this subcontract, which may be met by contributions by the offeror and/or by contributions from the offeror’s lower-tier offeror(s) or supplier(s) at no cost to NLR. All costs must be allowable and allocable under the terms of the Federal Acquisition Regulations and DOE Acquisitions Regulations (https://www.acquisition.gov/far/part-31).

Although only required for Topic Area 5, offerors for all topic areas are encouraged to include any offeror-owned materials, supplies, or equipment as price participation (cost share). Additionally, offerors are encouraged to cover new equipment, software and non-U.S. based technical services as part of their price participation or cost share as these expenses cannot be covered by award funding.

5. Competitive negotiated subcontract using Best Value Selection

This solicitation shall be conducted using Best Value Selection that results in an award that is most advantageous to NLR based on the best value combination of (a) evaluated qualitative merit and (b) evaluated price (cost) of the offers submitted.

Best Value Selection is based on the premise that, if all offers are of approximately equal qualitative merit, award will be made to the offeror with the lowest evaluated price (cost). However, NLR will consider awarding to an offeror with a higher evaluated price (cost) if the offer demonstrates the difference in price (cost) is commensurate with the higher qualitative merit. Conversely, NLR will consider awarding to an offeror with a lower evaluated qualitative merit if the price (cost) differential between it and other offers warrant doing so.

Up to eight (8) proposals may be selected, with one (1) to two (2) per topic area. Proposals will be evaluated with defined scoring criteria. See sections 6 (Qualitative merit criteria for best value selection) and 8 (Additional factors for evaluation).

6. Qualitative merit criteria for Best Value Selection

The Statement of Work (Attachment 1) for each topic area in this Request for Proposal (RFP) serves as NLR’s baseline requirement that must be met by each offeror. The Statement of Work, including deliverables and due dates, may be modified according to the proposed project, contingent that the contents remain consistent with the stated C-MAP program goals, project outcomes align with expectations by topic area, and report quality and associated compensation is commensurate with level of effort. Details may be clarified and finalized through contracting process if applicable.

Proposals will be scored by qualitative merit criteria set forth here and detailed below by topic area. These qualitative merit criteria are performance-based, establishing what NLR considers the technical factors in an offer (the proposal) to meet the objectives of the solicitation. These criteria permit selection of a higher priced offer that provides higher qualitative merit. The qualitative merit criteria will represent 90% of the total proposal score. Programmatic factors described in Section 9 (Additional Factors for Evaluation) will account for the remaining 10% of the total proposal score.

These programmatic factors are used to provide portfolio balance and programmatic objectives across the C-MAP program. The table below distributes the 90% qualitative merit score across evaluation criteria, scored with a 100 being the maximum score.

The weight of each qualitative merit criteria varies by topic area. Sub-criteria are detailed within each component of the qualitative merit criteria but are not individually weighted.

https://www.acquisition.gov/far/part-31

Topic Area Project context and readiness

Technical approach and development plan

Impact and replication potential

Expertise and teaming

Additional Factors (See Section 8)

1: Regional Microgrid Coordination 20 30 20 30 10

2: Microgrid Integration with Large Load Energy Consumers

20 30 25 25 10

3: Microgrid Development 20 30 25 25 10

4: Microgrid Transformation 20 30 25 25 10

5: Microgrid Assessme nt for Industrial or other Large Load Energy Consumers

20 35 30 15 10

Project context and readiness

Articulation of the communities or industries in which microgrid improvements are to be applied, power system status and work completed to date to understand the issues the proposed project is focused on addressing, and how ready partners are to undertake the proposed work. Measured by:

a. Description of the existing microgrid or power system infrastructure, system performance and established baseline conditions for cost, reliability, resilience, and/or power quality, including metrics monitored on an ongoing basis, where available. Completed Attachment 3 - Community and Microgrid Specifications – 2026

b. Clear articulation of the challenge being addressed, including work completed to date, lessons learned, and relevance of similar efforts or models from other locations.

c. Defined objectives of the proposal, including intended outcomes and to the extent possible estimated impacts on cost, reliability, resilience, security, and/or power quality.

Technical approach and development plan

The approach that will be undertaken to complete the project, including the deliverables identified within the statement of work and the proposed plans that will lead to the implementation of the proposed project. Measured by:

a. Demonstration of project requirements and process to address identified challenges, generate required outputs, and achieve project goal, including alignment with C-MAP Statement of Work.

b. Detailed project plan outlining tasks, deliverables, timelines, responsible parties, and resources required. Includes delineation between what is covered by DOE or applicant funds, if necessary. Completed Attachment 4 – Template Deliverable Schedule by Topic Area 2026 with deliverable occurrence table for proposed topic area.

c. Identification of key risks, mitigation strategies, and readiness to adjust the approach as needed to ensure successful project delivery.

Impact and replication potential

Articulation of the proposed efforts ability to reduce costs, improve reliability and resiliency, or power quality while providing valuable demonstrations of microgrid technology, common microgrid configurations, or development process replicability. Measured by:

a. Description of how and when the project plan will achieve higher-level goals, with clear demonstration of short- and long-term impacts, including next steps beyond the period of performance.

• For Topic Area 2: Description of how project benefits will be applied to both general and large load energy consumers.

b. Identification of trackable metrics over project life with a plan to monitor progress, connected to baseline conditions for cost, reliability, resilience, security, and/or power quality as applicable.

c. Demonstration of how work undertaken has the potential to scale or replicate beyond the project scope, including how proposed efforts may generate lessons , common microgrid configurations, transferable solutions, and description of collective and/or individual benefits within each microgrid community (if applicable).

• For Topic Area 5: The degree to which the proposed concept includes innovative microgrid concepts that can provide insights that are likely to be applicable to other industries.

Expertise and teaming

Articulation of the project teams ability and experience to implement the proposed effort, including demonstration of the previous collaborations or existing commitments. Measured by:

a. Demonstrated ability of the prime offeror to execute projects on time and on budget, with qualifications of all project team partners explicitly tied to tasks and responsibilities. Resumes (no more than two pages per team member) of all primary project team members should be included and will not apply to the proposal page count limitation

b. Evidence of direct involvement or current engagement with utilities of all involved microgrids, and documentation of historical partnerships and collaboration among all project contributors, evidenced with prior project records. Supporting evidence may be attached and will not apply to the proposal page count limitation.

a. Letters of support or commitment from all proposal collaborators, including as needed or applicable proposed subcontractors or other vendors, relevant power system owners/operators, community leaders, tribal councils, and other technical or collaborative partners. Letters of support and commitment should be included and will not apply to the proposal page count limitation.

7. Price (cost) evaluation for Best Value Selection

After evaluation of the qualitative merit criteria, the following price (cost) evaluation will be used to determine the best value of the offer in meeting the objectives of the solicitation.

Price (cost) will be evaluated based on the firm, fixed price to complete the work effort as described in the Statement of Work (Attachment 1).

The combined qualitative merit value will be considered equally important to the price (cost).

8. Additional Factors for Evaluation

In addition to the qualitative merit criteria and price (cost) evaluation above, each offer will be evaluated using the following programmatic factor(s), which collectively represent 10% of the total proposal score, to determine the competitive range and final negotiation rank order. Individual programmatic factors are not assigned separate weights and will be considered collectively in determining the programmatic evaluation score. Program factors include:

• Geographic distribution of projects.

• Distribution of expected impacts addressing affordability, reliability, resilience, and security.

• Representation of microgrid configurations or technologies.

• Representation across the five topic areas distribution.

• Potential for near-term commercialization or replication.

• Production of replicable outputs that can decrease procurement, permitting, construction timelines, and costs or increase operational efficiency for similar microgrid systems.

• Demonstration of common microgrid configurations.

• Engagement with local industrial, national security, or business partners, supporting industrial competitiveness.

• Detailed request within the proposal for program-provided technical support to meet a specific project need.

9. Evaluation process

NLR will evaluate offers in two general steps:

Step One—Initial Evaluation An initial evaluation will be performed to determine if all required information has been provided for an acceptable offer. Offerors may be contacted only for clarification purposes during the initial evaluation.

Offerors shall be notified if their offer is determined unacceptable and the reasons for rejection will be provided. Unacceptable offers will be excluded from further consideration.

Step Two—Discussion, Selection, Negotiation, and Award All acceptable offers will be evaluated against the Statement of Work and the qualitative merit criteria listed above. Based on this evaluation, and taking into consideration the proposed price (cost), NLR has the option, depending on the specific circumstances of the offers received, to use one of the following methods of selection:

(a) make individual selection(s), conduct negotiations, and make an award(s);

(b) conduct parallel negotiations with all offerors and make award(s);

(c) conduct discussions with all offerors, select successful finalists, conduct parallel negotiations with successful finalists, and then make award(s);

(d) conduct discussions with all offerors, conduct parallel negotiations with the finalists, select successful finalist(s), and then make award(s);

(e) select successful finalists, conduct successive negotiations, and make successive selections and awards;

(f) make no award(s).

10. Proposal preparation information

a. The proposal must include a title page, including the RFP title and number, name of your organization and principal investigator or project manager (with postal address, telephone number(s), and email address). The title should be succinct and capture the essence of your offer.

The technical proposal with its title page, along with all components of the proposal and other required documents as described sections b through g below shall each be provided as separate PDF files (provided in a compressed or “zipped” folder, preferred).

b. Formatting instructions

- A page is defined as one side of an 8 ½” x 11” sheet of paper.

- Use a 12-point font.

- Maintain at least 1-inch margins on all sides.

- All pages must have the same page orientation (i.e., do not present pages that offset by 90 degrees).

- Include the following notice on your title page:

“Notice for Handling Proposals:

This proposal shall be used and disclosed for Alliance/NLR and Government evaluation purposes only. Any authorized restrictive notices which the Offeror places on this proposal shall also be strictly complied with. Disclosure of this proposal outside the Government, Alliance/NLR, Alliance/NLR consultants, or other national laboratories personnel for evaluation purposes shall be made only to the extend authorized by, and in accordance with, the procedures in DEAR 915.207-70 and, as applicable stated in the procurement solicitation document for source evaluation and selection process.

Upon completion of the evaluation, the evaluator shall certify in writing to the Source Evaluation Team Chairperson that all copies of this proposal have been destroyed and/or deleted from any electronic device, medium or storage location with the exception of those retained in the procurement file or in the case of successful offeror(s) in the project management file.”

c. An electronic copy (assembled pdf) of the technical proposal directed toward meeting the requirements of NLR’s Statement of Work and qualitative merit criteria (see item 6 above). The technical proposal shall identify any proposed changes to the Statement of Work as a stand-alone attachment to the technical proposal. The total proposal shall not exceed fifteen (15) pages. The page limit does not include resumes of team members, required Attachments (3 and 4), cost proposal (see 10.e) and cost justification, letters of support, demonstration of partnerships, title page, and table of contents). Additional voluntary attachments, such as preliminary design studies reports should be included, but kept to a minimum and only included if they are germane and referenced in the proposal. Attachments may not be reviewed in their entirety so key points should be summarized within the text of the proposal. Internet references to URL’s should be included in their entirety. Hyperlinks may not be reviewed. Provide all necessary information directly in the proposal. The technical proposal shall be organized in the following sections:

• Cover page and table of contents (not included in page count)

• Proposal Context and Readiness

• Including a description of the community and existing system energy system.

• Project Information and Implementation

• Including the technical approach, project timeline, responsible parties, detailing of or changes to the development plan framed within the statement of work and proposed deliverable schedule.

• Project Impact

• Including short and long-term results or impacts of the work and how solutions may be replicated in other communities through similar projects.

• Preliminary assessment of expected outcomes focusing on reducing energy costs while improving energy reliability, resilience, quality, and security.

• Team Qualifications and Resources

• Including information on planned subcontractors or, if yet to be identified, the skills needed and how they will be identified.

• Additional Information and Technical Support Needs

• Appendix (not included in page count)

• Required Attachments 3 and 4

• Key project staff resumes

• Price/Cost proposal

d. A completed “Price/Cost Proposal Form” in an electronic copy (converted to pdf). An individual offeror’s price (cost) proposal standard format can be used if the data included is substantially the same as the NLR form. The offeror’s price (cost) and delivery terms must be valid for 90 days from the date of the offer. The price (cost) proposal should include support documentation for all categories of the proposed price (cost). The price (cost) proposal should separate price (cost) for lower-tier subcontract(s) and include support documentation for all categories of the proposed lower-tier subcontract(s) price (cost). See the “Price/Cost Proposal Form” for specific instructions.

This form is found under “Request for Proposal (RFP) Forms (Non-Construction)” at the following link:

http://www.nlr.gov/workingwithus/forms.html

e. Awardees from the previous C-MAP or other NLR or DOE solicitations are eligible to submit proposals under the current solicitation. These awardees are invited to submit a proposal to build upon the existing work or may submit a proposal for an eligible non-related work effort.

Preferential considerations will not be given to previous awardees; all proposals will be evaluated against the merit criteria.

f. Proposals should include Community and Microgrid Specification (Attachment 3)

g. Proposals should include a complete Deliverable Summary Table (Attachment 4). Use this template to organize a deliverable and payment schedule including all deliverables based on the proposed project work plan.

The general project length and specific due dates for each Topic Area can be adjusted within the proposal. Additional or interim deliverables may be proposed by the Subcontractor within this proposal. Additional deliverables should be added to the applicable topic area tab within Attachment 4 – Template Deliverable Schedule by Topic Area 2026. All project deliverables should communicate the completion of the work and the associated results in alignment with the proposed project work plan.

h. A completed “Representations & Certifications for Subcontracts/Purchase Orders” form.

Please download from the NLR general access website link below:

i. EITHER the “Organizational Conflicts of Interest Representation Statement” OR the “Organizational Conflicts of Interest Disclosure Statement”, as applicable per the “Instructions for Completion of Organizational Conflicts of Interest Statement – Disclosure or Representation Statement” . The forms and instructions are located at the following link:

j. A cover letter including either acceptance or change/exception with reason to the sample subcontract schedule (Attachment 2), anticipated period of performance, and the standard terms and conditions and/or the intellectual property terms and conditions in the appendices. The offeror shall explain any proposed change/exception with respect to the sample subcontract schedule and terms and conditions. Any proposed change/exception must contain sufficient amplification and justification to permit evaluation. Such proposed changes/exceptions will not, of themselves, automatically cause an offer to be termed unacceptable. However, a large number of proposed changes/exception or one or more significant exceptions not providing any obvious benefit to the NLR or the Department of Energy may result in rejection of such offer as unacceptable. In addition, the cover letter shall include a summary statement indicating acceptance of the statement of work (Attachment 1) or any change with the reason(s).

k. This solicitation requires the submittal of electronic proposals.

l. This solicitation does not commit NLR to pay costs incurred in the preparation and submission of a proposal in response to this RFP.

m. Only new work shall be considered within this proposal; previous work completed prior to the issuance of a subcontract shall not be considered for funding under this solicitation.

n. Technical assistance facilitated through NLR is available to support project success when specific gaps in technical expertise cannot be filled by project teams. The gap in expertise and need for support outside the proposed project team should be clearly specified within the proposal. Prior http://www.nlr.gov/workingwithus/forms.html http://www.nlr.gov/workingwithus/forms.html to identifying technical support facilitated through NLR, the offeror should ensure that similar services cannot be economically provided through private sector sources within the proposal. Need and availability of resources to serve the identified technical assistance will be evaluated in the proposal review and selection process but will not be included in the scoring process or within the maximum award amount. Technical support will be provided through C-MAP partners, including DOE research laboratories, academic institutions, or microgrid systems experts. While a proposal may specify a preferred technical support provider within the partner network, proposals should explicitly detail why that specific collaborator is necessary or warranted. If technical support is not specified in the proposal, may be requested after project award, based on availability of funds and the program technical capability.

o. Proposals submitted as a combination/hybrid of more than one (1) topic area will be determined as non-responsive and will not be evaluated. Submissions by a single prime offeror are allowable up to one per topic area.

p. It is the intent that all work under this award funded by NLR will occur in the U.S. This does not extend to the purchase of equipment or components that may originate outside of the U.S. although efforts should be made to identify U.S. based suppliers. Work to be conducted outside the U.S.

shall be identified and justified as part of this proposal. Clear documentation within the proposal is encouraged.

q. Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technology: Use of generative AI technology in the development of a competitor’s proposal submission is not prohibited. Competitors must indicate in the narrative the extent to which, if any, generative AI technology was used and how it was used to develop their submission including all submission elements described in this solicitation document.

Competitors are responsible for the accuracy, authenticity, and authorship representations of their submission under consideration, including content developed with the assistance of generative AI tools. Reliance on generative AI may introduce significant risks, including, but not limited to, research misconduct resulting from fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism when proposing, performing, or reviewing research, or in reporting research results.

11. Solicitation Provisions—full text provided

a. Late submissions, modifications, and withdrawals of offers

Offers, or modifications to them, received from qualified organizations after the latest date specified for receipt may be considered if received prior to award, and NLR determines that there is a potential price (cost), technical, or other advantage, as compared to the other offers received.

However, depending on the circumstances surrounding the late submission or modification, NLR may consider a late offer to be an indication of the offeror’s performance capabilities, resulting in downgrading of the offer in the technical evaluation process. Offers may be withdrawn by written notice received at any time before award.

b. Restrictions on disclosure and use of proprietary data (Nov 2018)

Offerors who include in their proposals proprietary data that they do not want disclosed to the public for any purpose or used by the government or NLR, except for evaluation purposes shall, in addition to including the “Notice for Handling Proposals” required in Paragraph #. b. above—

1. Mark the title page with the following legend:

“This offer includes proprietary data that shall not be disclosed outside the government or NLR and shall not be used or disclosed—in whole or in part—for any purpose other than to evaluate this offer. If, however, a subcontract is awarded to this offeror as a result of— or in connection with—the submission of proprietary data, the government or NLR shall have the right to duplicate, use, or disclose the proprietary data to the extent required in the resulting subcontract. This restriction does not limit the government or NLR’s right to use this proprietary data if obtained from another source without restriction. The proprietary data subject to this restriction are contained on pages [insert page and line numbers or other identification of pages] of this offer”; and

2. Highlight (in yellow) the proprietary data on each page it wishes to restrict and add the following footer:

“Use or disclosure of proprietary data contained on this page is subject to the restriction on the title page of this offer.”

c. Notice of right to receive patent waiver (derived from DEAR 952.227-84) and technical data requirements.

Offerors (and their prospective lower-tier subcontractors) in accordance with applicable statutes and Department of Energy Acquisition Regulations, (derived from DEAR 952.227-84) have the right to request a waiver of all or any part of the rights of the United States in inventions conceived or first actually reduced to practice in performance of the subcontract that may be awarded as a result of this solicitation, in advance of or within thirty (30) days after the effective date of subcontracting.

Even where such advance waiver is not requested or the request is denied, the subcontractor will have a continuing right during the subcontract to request a waiver of the rights of the United States in identified, individual inventions.

Domestic small business firms, educational institutions, and domestic nonprofit organizations normally will receive the clause: Patent Rights - Retention by the Subcontractor, which permits the offeror to retain title to subject inventions, except in subcontracts involving exceptional circumstances or intelligence activities. Therefore, domestic small business firms, educational institutions, and domestic nonprofit organizations normally need not request a waiver.

If an offeror’s proposal includes a lower-tier subcontract to another organization, that lower-tier organization's business type will determine the applicable intellectual property provisions that will apply to the lower-tier subcontract. Note that a lower-tier subcontractor may apply for a patent waiver under the same conditions as the offeror.

Under a research, development, and demonstration project, the Department of Energy and NLR are unable to ascertain, prior to receipt of offers or performance of the project, their actual needs for technical data. It is believed that the requirements contained herein are the basic needs of the Department of Energy and NLR. However, if the offeror indicates in its proposal that proprietary data will be used or withheld under its proposed effort, the Department of Energy and NLR reserve the right to negotiate appropriate rights to the proprietary data. The appropriate rights may include "Limited Rights in Proprietary Data" and/or "Subcontractor Licensing."

d. Disclaimer

NEITHER THE UNITED STATES; NOR THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY; NOR ALLIANCE FOR

SUSTAINABLE ENERGY, LLC; NOR ANY OF THEIR CONTRACTORS, SUBCONTRACTORS,

OR THEIR EMPLOYEES MAKE ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, OR ASSUME ANY

LEGAL LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR

USEFULNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE OF ANY OF THE TECHNICAL INFORMATION OR DATA

ATTACHED OR OTHERWISE PROVIDED HEREIN AS REFERENCE MATERIAL.

e. Solicitation disputes

The General Accountability Office and the Department of Energy do not accept or rule on disputes for solicitations for Requests for Proposals issued by Management and Operating Contractors for the Department of Energy (operators of Department of Energy National Laboratories). Should an offeror have any concerns regarding the NLR solicitation process or selection determination, the offeror may contact Paul White, Advocate for Commercial Practices, at (303) 384-7575. NLR will address each concern received from an offeror on an individual basis.

f. Prohibition on use of certain telecommunications and video surveillance services or equipment per the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act Section 889(a)(1)(B)

In accordance with the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act Section 889(a)(1)(B), NLR is prohibited from contracting with any offeror that uses, and/or whose lower-tier subcontractor(s) use, covered telecommunication equipment or services as a substantial or essential component of any system, or as a critical technology of any system, on or after 08/13/2020, unless an exception applies or a waiver is granted. This includes such equipment or services from five Chinese companies: Huawei, ZTE Corporation, Hytera Communications, Hangzhou Hikvision, and Dahua Technology.

g. Compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (found at 29 U.S.C. 794d)

The requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act apply to NLR’s procurement of all electronic and information technology (EIT) and…