Solar Construction on New Building

The Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service seeks design and installation of a 200 kilowatt AC rooftop solar photovoltaic system on an existing building at the Southwest Watershed Research Center in Tucson, Arizona, with proposals due August 11, 2026. This is a Total Small Business set-aside under NAICS 237130, foreclosing competition outside the small business pool.

Place of performance is Tucson, Arizona. The estimated project value is between $700,000 and $1,000,000, firm-fixed-price. The contractor must complete work within 200 calendar days of the Notice to Proceed and begin performance within 10 calendar days. A performance and payment bond is required in an amount not less than 20 percent of the proposed price but not to exceed $3,000,000.

Mandatory site visit attendance is required as a condition of responsiveness; the site visit was held July 15, 2026, and registration closed July 14. The contractor must provide one to three recent and relevant solar panel installation references from federal, state, or university customers within the past five years. Required technical submissions include site security and work coordination planning for an active research facility, construction management software identification, subcontract management approach, construction sequence, project closeout procedures, materials list, construction schedule with key milestones, and compliance with on-site superintendent requirements. The project superintendent must have a minimum of five years' construction experience with at least five years as superintendent on similar-sized projects and must be fluent in English and present on-site at all times during work performance.

The 200 kilowatt AC solar system (250 kilowatt DC minimum) includes utility interconnection and net-meter documentation as contractor responsibility. Equipment warranties require one-year full coverage on materials and labor, five-year coverage on all equipment, and 20-year minimum coverage on inverters. Contractor must provide all federal, state, and local permits and bear Tucson Electric Power interconnection application responsibility and associated utility fees. Award will be made using Lowest Priced Technically Acceptable evaluation to the responsible offeror offering the lowest priced proposal found technically acceptable. Amendment 0002, effective July 20, 2026, extended the deadline to August 11, 2026, and added three attachments including RFI questions and answers and a solar panel warranty letter specifying dissimilar metals mitigation for PV array grounding and electrical terminals.