Joint Base Lewis-McChord Gray Army Airfield Power Generation and Microgrid Construction

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Louisville District has issued a Special Notice regarding the Joint Base Lewis-McChord Gray Army Airfield Power Generation and Microgrid Construction project. This notice explicitly states that it is not a solicitation for competitive proposals but rather an announcement of intent to sole source a specific component of an upcoming construction contract. The project falls under the Energy Resilience and Conservation Investment Program (ERCIP) and involves constructing a microgrid system at Joint Base Lewis-McChord's Gray Army Airfield. The Army Corps of Engineers has the authority to sole source this particular project under provisions from the FY25 National Defense Authorization Act, which allows for sole sourcing of specific ERCIP projects where utility systems have been conveyed under 10 USC Section 2688 and only serve military installations.

The primary objective of this project is to enhance energy resilience at Joint Base Lewis-McChord by constructing a microgrid system capable of providing self-sufficient backup power for critical facilities. The sole source requirement designates City Light & Power JBLM LLC as the contractor to build the microgrid system, which will feature natural gas-fired reciprocating internal combustion engine generators totaling approximately 3.2 megawatts of generation capacity and a 4 MW/4 MWh energy storage system. The system is designed to support 2.8 megawatts of load, covering 100% of the Gray Army Airfield's critical facilities and providing backup power capability for a minimum of 14 days during commercial grid outages. Since this is a sole source arrangement under specific statutory authority, there are no competitive bidding opportunities or eligibility criteria for other contractors to participate in this particular component of the project. The notice serves to inform the contracting community of the Army Corps of Engineers' intent to include this sole source requirement in the broader construction contract solicitation.