Construction of a Microgrid system at the Conroe Army Reserve Center (ARC) in Conroe, TX

***THE SOLICITATION NUMBER IS BEING CHANGED FROM W912QR25RA016 to W912QR25RA023.***

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Louisville District intends to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) W912QR25RA023 for the construction of a Microgrid system at the Conroe Army Reserve Center (ARC), in Conroe, TX.

This is a Design-Bid-Build Construction project to provide energy resiliency by providing an on-site, automated energy control / generation storage management system: Construct a microgrid system, including a smart grid control system, that will have full islanding capability. The microgrid system will incorporate a new 388kW carport mounted photovoltaic (PV) solar array and 1-340kW natural gas backup generator system, with load-balancing controllers to reduce fuel use.  The microgrid system will include master microgrid controller, and an automated distribution switch to disconnect the Army Reserve Center (ARC) from local electrical utility grid during grid outages. Microgrid will be installed on a closed restricted network (CRN) requiring an Authority to Operate (ATO) IAW Department of Defense (DoD) policies. System cybersecurity requirements IAW UFC 4-010-06 “Cybersecurity for Facility Related Control Systems” are included in the specifications. 

The microgrid system will support energy resiliency by providing on-site energy generation, this includes the installation of natural gas (NG) generators, PV system, microgrid control system, electrical interconnection switchgear, interconnection circuit wirings, and modification to the existing electrical distribution system as necessary to establish the Conroe ARC microgrid network. The PV array shall meet IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) Standard 1741-SA, 2018 IEEE 1547 for Interconnection, as well as meet all federal, state, and local code requirements. The PV system will be designed to utilize PV power on-site prior to feeding into the local grid. The net metering and interconnection agreements will require approval by the utility provider, Entergy Texas.

TYPE OF CONTRACT AND NAICS: This RFP will be for one (1) Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) contract. The North American Industrial Classification System Code (NAICS) for this effort is 237130 – Power and Communication Line and Related Structures Construction. The Business Size Standard is $45,000,000.00.

TYPE OF SET-ASIDE: This acquisition will be an unrestricted procurement.

SELECTION PROCESS: This is a Design/Bid/Build procurement. The proposals will be evaluated using a Best Value Trade Off source selection process. Past performance and technical information contained in the Offeror's proposal will be reviewed, evaluated, and rated by the Government. The proposal for this procurement, at a minimum, will consist of the following: Prime Contractor Past Performance, Technical Factor(s) such as management plan, and Price and ProForma Information such as bonding and financial capability will also be required to meet the minimum requirements of the solicitation. All evaluation factors, other than price, when combined, are considered approximately equal to cost or price.

DISCUSSIONS: The Government intends to award without discussions but reserves the right to conduct discussions should it be deemed in the Government's best interest.

CONSTRUCTION MAGNITUDE: The magnitude of this construction project is anticipated to be between $10,000,000.00 and $25,000,000.00 in accordance with DFARS 236.204.

ANTICIPATED SOLICITATION RELEASE DATE: The Government anticipates releasing the solicitation on or about 28 March 2025. Details regarding Optional Site Visits will be included in the solicitation. Actual dates, times, and base access information will be identified in the solicitation. Additional details can be found in the solicitation when it is posted to sam.gov.

SOLICITATION WEBSITE: The official solicitation, when posted, will be available free of charge by electronic posting only and may be found at sam.gov website, https://sam.gov. Paper copies of the solicitation will not be issued. Telephone and Fax requests for this solicitation will not be honored. Project files are Portable Document Format (PDF) files and can be viewed, navigated, or printed using Adobe Acrobat Reader. To download the solicitation for this project, contractors are required to register at the.sam.gov website at https://sam.gov.Amendments, if/when issued, will be posted to the above referenced website for electronic downloading. This will be the only method of distributing amendments prior to closing; therefore, it is the Offerors responsibility to check the website periodically for any amendments to the solicitation.

REGISTRATIONS: Offerors shall have and shall maintain an active registration in the following database:

System for Award Management (SAM): Offerors shall have and shall maintain an active registration in the SAM database at http://www.sam.gov to be eligible for a Government contract award. If the Offeror is a Joint Venture (JV), the JV entity shall have valid SAM registration in the SAM database representing the JV as one business/firm/entity. If at the time of award an Offeror is not actively and successfully registered in the SAM database, the Government reserves the right to award to the next prospective Offeror.

POINT-OF-CONTACT: The point-of-contact for this procurement is Contract Specialist, Alex Hamilton, at alex.j.hamilton@usace.army.mil.

This announcement serves as the Advance Notice for this project. Responses to this synopsis are not required.