NREL Request for Proposal (RFP) No. SUB-2025-10011.pdf

Reference Guide II-009, Exhibit A (Rev. 09/2020) Page 1 of 12

National Renewable Energy Laboratory Managed and Operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC

Request for Proposals (RFP) Number SUB-2025-10011

“Integrated Biorefinery Facility North High Bay Revitalization Custom Equipment”

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)

READ THIS DOCUMENT CAREFULLY

This solicitation is being conducted in accordance with National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) procedures for competitive subcontracts. NREL will award a subcontract based on the following criteria:

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: 12/13/2024 Due Date: 2/7/2025 Time Due: 5:00PM Mountain Time

Technical questions must be received in writing no later than 1/17/2025

Written questions regarding this solicitation document and its requirements will be addressed in writing. For technical questions, NREL will issue an amendment to this solicitation that includes all submitted questions and corresponding answers. All recipients of the solicitation will receive a copy of these responses.

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

SUBMIT OFFERS TO AND REQUEST INFORMATION FROM THE NREL RFP CONTACT

BELOW

2. NREL RFP Contact Todd Labosky, Subcontract Administrator National Renewable Energy Laboratory 15013 Denver West Parkway, MS: RSF030 Golden, CO 80401

Email: todd.labosky@nrel.gov

Electronic copies of forms and appendices can be found at:

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

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Procurement Forms | NREL

3. Project description:

As specified in the Statement of Work titled “Integrated Biorefinery Facility North High Bay Revitalization Custom Equipment”, (Attachment 1).

4. Proposed subcontract award and period of performance

The Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC has entered into Contract No. DE-AC36-

08GO28308 with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), an agency of the U.S.

Government, for the management and operation of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (referred to as “NREL”). In this solicitation, all uses of “NREL” shall refer to the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

NREL intends to award a single Firm Fixed Price subcontract under this solicitation. The expected period of performance is the execution date of such subcontract through 6/30/2026, with current a rough order of magnitude of funding of $9,000,000.00 to $12,000,000.00.

5. Competitive negotiated subcontract using Best Value Selection

This solicitation is a Best Value Selection process intended to result in an award that offers the greatest advantage to NREL. The selection will be based on the optimal combination of (a) evaluated qualitative merit and (b) evaluated price (cost) of the submitted offers.

Best Value Selection operates on the principle that if all offers have roughly equal qualitative merit, the award will be made to the offeror with the lowest evaluated price (cost). However, NREL may award the subcontract to an offeror with a higher evaluated price (cost) if the offer’s superior qualitative merit justifies the price difference. Similarly, NREL may select an offeror with a lower qualitative merit if the cost savings outweigh the benefits of higher-priced offers.

6. Qualitative merit criteria for Best Value Selection

The Statement of Work (Attachment 1) included in this RFP establishes the baseline requirements an offer must meet.

The qualitative merit criteria define the technical factors NREL values in an offer. These criteria are performance-based and allow NREL to select a higher priced offer if it demonstrates superior qualitative merit.

The following qualitative merit criteria will be used to evaluate the technical value of the offer based on the extent to which each offer achieves the objectives of the solicitation.

NREL will consider any listed sub-criteria as part of the overall evaluation although such sub-criteria are not individually weighted.

https://www.nrel.gov/workingwithus/forms.html

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Each qualitative merit criterion, along with any sub-criteria (if applicable), and its assigned weight follows:

Criterion

Criterion Assigned

Weight

Description

6.1 Technical Approach

45%

Provide documentation demonstrating how the proposed equipment solution fulfills or surpasses the project objectives.

Provide documentation demonstrating the extent of the Offeror’s potential for future upgrades and value engineering to the equipment.

Provide documentation explaining how the Offeror will meet or exceed the design requirements.

Provide documentation demonstrating the Offeror’s knowledge and ability to comply with relevant national fabrication codes.

Provide documentation detailing the completeness of the engineering work and the mitigation of process hazards.

Documentation outlining the included design documents, such asP&IDSs, PHA, Electrical One-Line diagrams, Spare Part List, Bill of Materials, and other related materials.

Specify the extent to which the Offeror intends to utilize sub-contractors to fulfill the proposal deliverables.

Specify the quality of components and equipment, including the accuracy of instrumentation.

Provide documentation detailing the Offeror’s capability to design a system that integrates interchangeable equipment with data management systems.

Reference Guide II-009, Exhibit A (Rev. 09/2020) Page 4 of 12

6.2 Experience

40%

Describe the Offeror’s experience with similar equipment solutions and its ability to provide reliable operational support.

Provide documentation detailing the Offeror’s experience with the requested process technologies and its capability to implement first-of-its-kind equipment.

Describe the extent of the Offeror’s experience with the specific requested process unit operations, similar production ranges, and operational mission space.

Demonstrate successful experience working with contracting entities on projects of similar scope and magnitude, with a preference for government experience.

6.3 Capability

15%

Describe the Offeror’s capability and capacity to undertake a project of this scope and magnitude within the requested timeline.

Explain the Offeror’s ability to effectively ship the equipment to NREL’s site in Golden, CO.

Describe NREL’s ability to modify customized equipment to accommodate future system capacity.

The intellectual property agreement for the equipment must be clearly defined to provide NREL with maximum flexibility and ownership of the equipment and designs. While NREL does not currently plan to modify the proposed equipment, past experience shows that modifications may become necessary to meet evolving laboratory needs or to expand equipment capabilities. Please include in your proposal the rights NREL will have to make such modifications and any limitations on these modifications as future needs arise.

100% Total of Merit Criteria

7. Price (cost) evaluation for Best Value Selection

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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.

The combined qualitative merit value will be considered substantially more important than the price (cost).

Offerors should be aware that NREL will evaluate Offers in accordance with the policies and procedures of Part 25 of the FAR. In compliance with the Buy American Act, preference will be given to domestic offers., and foreign offers will be adjusted for evaluation purposes in accordance with FAR 25.106 and Subpart 25.5 (as such terms are defined in FAR 25.003).

8. Evaluation process

NREL will evaluate offers through a two-step process:

Step One—Initial Evaluation An initial evaluation will assess whether all required information has been submitted to qualify as an acceptable offer. During this stage, offerors may be contacted for clarification only. If an offer is unacceptable, NREL will notify the offeror and provide the reasons for rejection. NREL will not further evaluate unacceptable offers.

Step Two—Discussion, Selection, Negotiation, and Award All acceptable offers will be evaluated against the Statement of Work and the qualitative merit criteria outlined above. Following this evaluation, and considering the proposed price (cost), NREL may choose one of the following selection methods, depending on the specific circumstances of the acceptable offers received:

(a) select one or more offers, negotiate individually, and make one or more awards;

(b) conduct parallel negotiations with all offerors and make one or more awards;

(c) engage in discussions with all offerors, select successful finalists, conduct parallel negotiations with the finalists, and then make one or more awards;

(d) engage in discussions with all offerors, conduct parallel negotiations with the finalists, select the most successful finalist(s), and make one or more awards;

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

(f) decide not to make any awards.

9. 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 in sections b through g below shall each be provided as separate PDF files (provided in a compressed or “zipped” folder, preferred).

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b. Formatting instructions

- A page is defined as one side of an 8 ½” x 11” sheet of paper or 11” X 17”in landscape for engineered drawings.

- 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/NREL 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/NREL, Alliance/NREL 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 NREL’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 technical proposal shall be organized in the following sections:

Section No.

Description

1. Technical Approach

2. Experience

3. Capability

Total technical proposal shall not exceed 30 pages which includes all text, graphics, charts, attachments, appendices, addendums, indices, exhibits, etc.

(resumes and proposed changes to the Statement of Work are not included in page count). If a submission exceeds the page limit, NREL reserves the sole discretion to disregard any information contained on pages beyond the page limit.

d. A completed “Equipment Price Breakdown and Total” spreadsheet and

“Proposed Payment Schedule”. NREL plans to purchase between five and twenty separate process unit operation modules at the barrel-per-day capacity, with the

Reference Guide II-009, Exhibit A (Rev. 09/2020) Page 7 of 12 exact quantity depending on the project budget. Offerors are asked to provide a detailed price breakdown, including the cost for individual modules and the total system price. The offeror’s proposed pricing and delivery terms must remain valid for 90 days from the date of the offer.

e. A completed “Representations & Certifications for Subcontracts/Purchase

Orders” form. Please download from the NREL general access website link below:

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

f. 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:

g. A cover letter must include either acceptance or any proposed change/exception, with justifications, to the sample subcontract schedule (Attachment 2), the anticipated period of performance, the standard terms and conditions, and any intellectual property terms and conditions in the appendices. If proposing any changes or exceptions to the sample subcontract schedule or terms and conditions, the offeror must provide detailed explanations and justifications to enable proper evaluation. Proposed changes or exceptions will not automatically disqualify an offeror. However, an offer with numerous changes or significant exceptions that provide no clear benefit to the NREL or the Department of Energy may be deemed unacceptable and rejected. In addition, the cover letter must include a summary statement confirming acceptance of the statement of work (Attachment 1) or specify any proposed changes with reasons.

h. This solicitation mandates the electronic submission of proposals.

i. This solicitation does not obligate NREL to cover any costs incurred associated with preparation and submission of a proposal in response to this RFP.

10. 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 NREL 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, NREL 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.

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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 NREL, 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 NREL 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 NREL 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 NREL’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.

In accordance with applicable statutes and Department of Energy Acquisition Regulations (as outlined in DEAR 952.227-84) offerors and their prospective lower-tier subcontractors have the right to request a waiver of some or all of the of the United States’ rights to inventions conceived or first actually reduced to practice during the performance of a subcontract awarded under this solicitation. Such a waiver may be requested either in advance or within thirty (30) days after the subcontract’s effective date. If no advance waiver is requested or if a request is denied, the subcontractor retains the ongoing right to request a waiver of the rights of the United States for specific, individual inventions identified during the subcontract’s performance.

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

Reference Guide II-009, Exhibit A (Rev. 09/2020) Page 9 of 12 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 NREL 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 NREL.

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 NREL 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, THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY, ALLIANCE

FOR SUSTAINABLE ENERGY, LLC, NOR ANY OF THEIR CONTRACTORS,

SUBCONTRACTORS, OR EMPLOYEES MAKE ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR

IMPLIED, NOR DO THEY ASSUME ANY LEGAL LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY

FOR THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR USEFULNESS OF ANY

TECHNICAL INFORMATION OR DATA PROVIDED HEREIN OR ATTACHED AS

REFERENCE MATERIAL, FOR ANY PURPOSE.

e. Solicitation disputes

The General Accountability Office and the Department of Energy do not review or resolve disputes related to solicitations for Requests for Proposals issued by Management and Operating Contractors for the Department of Energy (operators of Department of Energy National Laboratories). If an offeror has concerns about the NREL solicitation process or selection determination, such offeror may contact Paul White, Advocate for Commercial Practices, at (303) 384-7575. NREL will review and address each concern on a case-by-case 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 compliance with Section 889(a)(1)(B) of the John S. McCain National Defense

Authorization Act, NREL is prohibited from contracting with any offeror that uses, or whose lower-tier subcontractor uses, covered telecommunication equipment or services as a substantial or essential component of any system, or as critical technology of any system, on or after 08/13/2020, unless an exception applies or a waiver is granted. This restriction applies to equipment or services provided by the 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 NREL’s procurement of all electronic and information technology (EIT) and any development, maintenance, or use of EIT.

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11. Preaward On-site Equal Opportunity Compliance Evaluation (derived from FAR

52.222-24)

If this solicitation results in a subcontract in the amount of $10 million or more, the prospective Subcontractor, and any known lower-tier subcontractors with anticipated lower-tier subcontracts of $10 million or more, will be subject to a pre-award compliance evaluation by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). However, this evaluation may be waived if the OFCCP has conducted an evaluation within the past 24 months and found the Subcontractor and lower-tier subcontractors in compliance with Executive Order 11246.

12. Small Business (Lower-Tier) Subcontracting Plan (derived from FAR 52.219-9) (If

Applicable)

This requirement does not apply to small business offerors. It only applies if the offeror is notified of NREL’s intent to negotiate a subcontract following the completion of the source selection process described above.

Successful offerors will be required to submit a lower-tier subcontracting plan upon notification of intent to negotiate a subcontract under this solicitation. The lower-tier subcontracting plan must specifically address lower-tier subcontracting with small businesses, small disadvantaged businesses, and women-owned small business concerns.

If the offeror submits an individual subcontracting plan, it must include separate sections for lower-tier subcontracting with small businesses, small disadvantaged businesses, and women-owned small business concerns, with one section for the base subcontract and additional sections for each option (if applicable). The approved plan will be incorporated into and become a part of the final subcontract. The lower-tier subcontracting plan must be negotiated within the timeframe specified by the NREL subcontract administrator. Failure to submit and negotiate a lower-tier subcontracting plan will render the offeror ineligible for subcontract award. Detailed requirements for lower-tier subcontracting plans are available at the following link:

http://www.nrel.gov/workingwithus/standard-terms.html (see Appendix F)

13. Solicitation provisions

The following solicitation documents are attached:

▪ Attachment 1, Statement of Work dated 7/15/2024

▪ Attachment 2, Sample Subcontract Schedule - Firm Fixed Price

▪ Attachment 3, Equipment Addendum

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▪ Attachment 4, Process Design Basis Documentation

▪ Attachment 5, Equipment Price Breakdown and Total

▪ Attachment 6, Proposed Payment Schedule

14. Solicitation provisions—incorporated by reference—general access

This solicitation incorporates one or more solicitation provisions by reference with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. The following documents can be downloaded from http://www.nrel.gov/workingwithus/standard-terms.html and http://www.nrel.gov/workingwithus/forms.html or the NREL RFP Contact (see item 2) will make available upon request.

The documents and forms that are listed below are applicable to this solicitation and resulting award:

Appendix/Form

✓ NREL Standard Terms and Conditions: Appendix B-2 (1/23/2023);

NREL Intellectual Property Provisions: Appendix C-1 or Appendix C-2

(based on business size classification) (8/1/2022);

NREL Terms and Conditions for Subcontracts in excess of $700,000.00

Appendix D (3/01/2020);

NREL Representations and Certifications (8/1/2019) for

Subcontracts/Purchase Orders;

✓ NREL Conflicts of Interest Forms

✓ NREL Small Business (Lower-tier) Subcontracting Plan Requirements (for subcontracts in excess of $700,000.00) (If Applicable).

15. NAICS Code and Small Business Size Standard

a. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) for this solicitation is 334516.

b. The small business size standard for 334516 is 1,000 or fewer employees.

16. Notice Regarding NREL Payments to Subcontractors

NREL’s standard practice is to make payments to domestic subcontractors via electronic (ACH) transfers and to international subcontractors via wire transfers. Any offeror awarded a subcontract under this solicitation must complete and submit a “Request for ACH/Wire Banking Information” form to the designated NREL Subcontract Administrator.

Payments will be deposited directly into the subcontractor’s designated bank account based on the information on the form provided by an authorized subcontractor

Reference Guide II-009, Exhibit A (Rev. 09/2020) Page 12 of 12 representative. The NREL Subcontract Administrator will provide a PDF of the form upon award notification. Please do not include an ACH form with your RFP response.