Solar PPA

St. Johns Public Schools in Clinton County, Michigan issued a Request for Proposals on November 8, 2019 for the design, construction, ownership, operation, maintenance, and financing of a third-party solar photovoltaic power system through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). The District seeks a qualified contractor to install ground-mounted solar installations across six school facilities: St. Johns High School, St. Johns Middle School, Eureka Elementary, Gateway Elementary, Oakview Elementary, and Riley Elementary, which collectively consume approximately 5.99 million kilowatt-hours annually with average monthly electric bills of $68,083. The selected proposer must offer the lowest cost of electrical energy (price per kWh or percentage of net metering credit) for each year of the PPA with no up-front fees to the District, as all costs must be incorporated into the power purchase rate, and must accept the draft Power Purchase Agreement and Site Lease provided by the District with any proposed amendments clearly identified. Minimum qualifications include five completed solar PV projects under PPA financing within the United States with at least two projects serving local governments, schools, or state entities of similar scale and type, valid Michigan contractor licenses, Michigan Professional Engineering registration, NABCEP certification, and three years of current financial statements. Required warranties include a 10-year complete system warranty, 20-year PV panel warranty with maximum 20% degradation, and 10-year complete operational power capacity warranty guaranteeing minimum output of 85% of expected performance. A mandatory pre-bid conference was held on November 14, 2019 at 11:00 AM, the final deadline for submittal of questions was November 26, 2019 at 4:00 PM EST, and proposals were due December 3, 2019 at 2:00 PM EST (one original and six hard copies plus one electronic copy on USB), with interviews tentatively scheduled for December 16, 2019 and board recommendation expected at a January Board of Education meeting.

No set-aside designations or disadvantaged enterprise restrictions are specified in the procurement documents. The District reserves ownership of Solar Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) for the life of the agreement unless otherwise specified by the proposer, while the Seller retains ownership of other credits, tax credits, and rebates. The PPA will cover an initial twenty-year term from the first day of the month following the final System's Commercial Operation Date, with options to extend for up to two additional five-year terms at rates not to exceed the Purchaser's utility rate less ten percent. The District is concurrently conducting an Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) expected to reduce electric consumption by 50% upon completion in spring 2021, and all PPA proposals were required to assume this 50% baseline reduction for calculation purposes. No specific award value or budget range is disclosed in the available procurement documents, as pricing will be evaluated competitively based on each proposer's offered cost per kilowatt-hour or percentage of net metering credit. The Purchaser has options to purchase all Systems at Fair Market Value or Termination Value on the tenth anniversary of the final Commercial Operation Date, upon expiration of the contract term, or upon sale or abandonment of a school facility after five years.