Mt. Hood Town Hall Solar Plus Solar Storage Microgrid Design/Build Services

Hood River County is seeking a Design-Build contractor for the Mt. Hood Town Hall Solar Plus Storage Energy System Construction through a Request for Proposal (RFP). The project involves comprehensive design, engineering, procurement, and construction of a turn-key microgrid system at the Mt. Hood Town Hall, a critical resilience facility in the Upper Hood River Valley. Specific project requirements include installing a minimum 55 kW solar photovoltaic (PV) system, a 60 kW/307.2 kWh battery energy storage system (BESS), and integrated microgrid controls to support facility operations during power outages and grid-connected power during normal operations. Proposers will be evaluated on proposal completeness (pass/fail), understanding of scope and approach (30 points), experience with similar projects (25 points), cost competitiveness (10 points), equipment proposed (20 points), and staff qualifications (15 points). Key dates include a voluntary site visit on November 12, 2025, at 10 a.m., questions deadline of November 14, 2025, at 5 p.m. PST, and proposal submissions due December 11, 2025, by 5 p.m. PST. The contract award is anticipated for January 20, 2026, with construction required to begin before August 2, 2026, and be completed by August 2, 2027.

All contractors and subcontractors must be registered with the Oregon Construction Contractors Board and file a $30,000 public works bond before commencing work. Proposers must comply with Oregon prevailing wage requirements under ORS 279C, using the October 5, 2025 BOLI Prevailing Wage Rates. Additional requirements include demonstrating an employee drug-testing program and maintaining insurance coverage of $2,000,000 commercial general liability and $2,000,000 professional liability, with performance and payment bonds equal to 100% of the contract value. The project budget ranges from $825,000 to $885,000, with funding provided by Hood River County and a grant from the Oregon Department of Energy. Upon completion, the microgrid will be owned by Hood River County and operated and maintained long-term by the Mt. Hood Towne Hall Association (MHTHA), a nonprofit organization. Contractors must be prepared to integrate the new solar plus storage system with existing infrastructure while meeting the project's resilience and energy sustainability objectives.