Request for Qualifications DRPA Solar Photovoltaic Systems To Finance, Design, Construct, Install, Operate, and Maintain New Rooftop, Ground, and Canopy-Mounted Solar Generation at Facilities Owned and Operated by Delaware River Port Authority Located in New Jersey April 16 th, 2018 1
Section A: Introduction A.1 General Overview The DRPA is a bi-state corporate instrumentality of the State of New Jersey and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The DRPA owns and operates four major toll bridge crossings of the Delaware River; the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, the Walt Whitman Bridge, the Commodore Barry Bridge, and the Betsy Ross Bridge. Each bridge facility includes office buildings, maintenance shops, garages, and other buildings and structures. In addition, the DRPA owns real property in the vicinity of the bridges. The Authority s wholly-owned transit subsidiary, Port Authority Transit Corporation ( PATCO ) operates a rapid transit line providing public transport service between Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey. PATCO s transit system includes an administrative and maintenance facility at Lindenwold and 13 stations along the approximately 14.2-mile route. The DRPA owns the nine stations in New Jersey and leases the four Philadelphia stations from the City of Philadelphia. Additional information regarding the DRPA and its operations can be obtained by reviewing annual reports available on the DRPA s website at www.drpa.org, About DRPA, Annual Reports. A.2 Scope of Services The Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) hereby invites interested professional firms and developers to submit a Statement of Qualification for providing financial, design, construction, installation, operations, and maintenance services for new rooftop, ground, and canopy-mounted solar generation at facilities owned and operated by DRPA. Eight (8) DRPA/PATCO sites in New Jersey have been identified for this solar project: the Betsy Ross and Commodore Bridge administrative sites, One Port Center, Lindenwold Yard, Lindenwold Station, Ashland Station, Woodcrest Station, and Ferry Ave Station. The overall solar project scale is estimated to be 22 Megawatts (DC) in capacity. Level 2 Interconnection Applications have been filed for all sites and the utilities have approved the interconnection and have confirmed and reserved sufficient capacity. It is the DRPA s intention to undertake the project in two phases. The first phase of work shall provide about 2 Megawatts of solar capacity at the Betsy Ross and Commodore Barry Bridge administrative sites, and at One Port Center. This will include a mix of roof mount, ground mount and canopy solar systems. The second phase of work should provide about 20 Megawatts of solar capacity at Lindenwold yard with a combination of roof mount and canopy solar systems and the four PATCO commuter stations and will be solely canopy solar systems. DRPA requests that the successful candidate(s) offer a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement with options for DRPA to purchase at year 6 and then all subsequent years for the length of the Agreement. There is the potential that the DRPA would engage in eight site-specific PPAs. Project developers ( Offeror(s) ) interested in submitting proposals for the development of solar power generation systems at the multiple locations are required to fully respond to this RFQ to be deemed a Qualified Offeror. A subsequent Request for Proposals ( RFP ) will be issued to Qualified Offers. The RFP will provide detailed data and relevant site data including the anticipated potential solar PV array size for each site. A.3 Schedule The anticipated schedule for the Project is listed in Table 1. DRPA maintains the right to adjust the schedule at its sole discretion. 2
Table 1: Anticipated Schedule Event Anticipated Dates Issue Request for Qualifications (RFQ) April 16 th, 2018 Responses to RFQ Due May 16 th, 2018 at 2:00pm Evaluation Period May 21 st, 2018 to June 8 th, 2018 Notification of shortlisted Qualified Offerors June 11 th, 2018 Issue Request for Proposals (RFP) June 11 th, 2018 Questions Due July 6 th, 2018 Answers Due July 10 th, 2018 Responses to RFP Due July 18 th, 2018 at 2:00pm Evaluation Period July 23 rd, 2018 to August 17 th, 2018 O&M Board Review September 11, 2018 Evaluation Period September 12 th, 2018-September 21 st, 2018 Board Approval October 17 th, 2018 Notice of Award October 31 st, 2018 Notice to Proceed November 2018 A.4 Attachments Attachment A: Disclosure Forms Attachment B: Political Contribution Form and Certification Attachment C: General Solar PV System Design Descriptions A.5 Primary Contact Contact: Siata Sheriff, Contract Administrator Email: sfsheriff@drpa.org Phone: 856-968-2086 Address: One Port Center, PO Box 1949, 2 Riverside Drive, Camden, NJ, 08101 A.6 Non-Discrimination The Delaware River Port Authority is firmly committed to providing full and equal business opportunities to all persons regardless of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age or non-job related disability. In that regard, the Delaware River Port Authority will affirmatively assure that minority and female-owned business enterprises are afforded equal opportunities to submit bids and/or proposals for consideration for all purchases and contracts issued in connection with this project. Prospective proposers should understand that the participation of certified MBEs and WBEs is a matter of great interest in the evaluation of all proposals. To that end, the DRPA has established MBE and WBE goals for this project. Proposers are not expected to name their MBE and WBE team members at the time they submit the Statement of Qualifications. However, MBE and WBE team members must be named, and commitment levels must be noted at the time the proposal is submitted. 3
This public advertisement constitutes the Delaware River Port Authority s formal solicitation to determine the interest of qualified Professional Engineering firms in the aforementioned project. Section B: Statement of Qualification Requirements To achieve a uniform review process and obtain the maximum degree of comparability, it is required that Statement of Qualification (SOQs) include the following basic format: B.1 Cover Letter The signed Cover Letter should be on company letterhead clearly stating the name of the Offeror business address, telephone numbers, e-mail address. The Cover Letter shall include an executive summary of the Statement of Qualifications. B.2 Narrative The Narrative shall succinctly discuss the general team information, technical overview, and financial methodologies. The Narrative is limited to ten (10) pages. B.2.1 General Team Information Discuss principle firm and role of each subconsultant. B2.2 Technical Overview Offerors shall provide a description of the equipment and systems installed on past solar PV projects and a discussion regarding why these were selected as the optimal choice. Experience with solar systems (modules, inverters, mounting structures) and monitoring systems (tracking systems, generation meters, data acquisition system, data presentation information) should be included in the discussion. B2.3 Financial Methodologies All Offerors must provide information as requested below relating to their team s financial ability to build, own (if necessary) and operate (if necessary) the solar power generation systems. Each Offeror must demonstrate that it has access to capital on terms and conditions that will allow it to construct the systems on competitive terms. Offerors will only be considered if they have proof of available financing necessary for the project. Power Purchase Agreement (PPA): Describe the structure of its partnership with the financial partners it anticipates will be used under a PPA arrangement. If self-financing, describe the financing plan, the source of funding and number of projects that the prime firm has financed utilizing this methodology. All restrictions on the use of data contained within an Offer and all confidential information must be clearly designated as such within the Statement of Qualification. Proprietary information submitted in an Offer or response to the RFQP, will be handled in accordance with DRPA s Rightto-Know/Open Records Policy. B.3 Key Personnel B.3.1 Organizational Chart Organizational chart illustrating reporting lines and names, titles, and roles for key participants proposed by the team. The Organizational Chart is limited to one (1) page. 4
B.3.2 Key Resumes Resumes of the key senior management personnel and each key participant of the Offeror s team that would oversee aspects of this project, including technology selection, capital planning, construction, and utility interconnection coordination. Limited to ten (10) key resumes in SF 330 format. B.4 SOQ Disclosure Form Offerors are to complete the Disclosure Form contained in Attachment A providing additional information: Part I: Information about the Project Team Part II: Information about Partner Firms Part III: Essential Requirements for Project Team Part IV: Financing Partners Part V: Legal Concerns Part VI: Certification B.5 Political Contribution Forms The Authority s Board of Commissioners adopted a resolution stating Consultants seeking contracted work must be prevented from influencing the vendor selection process. In order to be considered, the Political Contribution Form and Certification (attachment B) must be completed and submitted in a separately sealed envelope labeled POLITICAL CONTRIBUTION FORM AND CERTIFICATION along with your Statement of Qualifications. Section C: Submission of Statement of Qualifications C.1 General The Offeror must submit one (1) SIGNED original, five (5) copies, and one (1) electronic copy of its response to the RFQ in a sealed envelope by 2:00pm EST on Wednesday, May 16 th, 2018 to: Delaware River Port Authority Attention: Siata Sheriff, Contract Administrator One Port Center PO Box 1949 2 Riverside Drive Camden, NJ 08103 Mailed Proposals must be received by the DRPA prior to the time set for the SOQ submission if they are to be considered. Faxed or e-mailed responses will not be accepted. Late responses will not be considered. C.2 Statement of Qualifications The Offeror must submit a binding SOQ on the Request for Qualifications requirements detailed in Section B. The SOQ should be sealed in a separate envelope labeled: SOQ-DRPA Solar Photovoltaic Systems. The SOQ Narrative is limited to ten (10) pages and the number of resumes in U.S. Government Forms 330 format is limited to ten (10) key people. 5
C.3 Political Contribution Forms Offerors are required to submit only one (1) completed copy of the Political Contribution Disclosure Form and one (1) copy of the Certification Regarding Prohibition on Contracting with Entities Who Make Certain Political Contributions Form. The DRPA s Political Contribution Disclosure Policy and the associated Forms are attached hereto as Attachment B. The required Political Contribution Disclosure Form and Certification should be sealed in a separate envelope labeled: Political Contribution Forms - DRPA Solar Photovoltaic Systems. Section D: Evaluation Process The DRPA intends to short-list the most qualified, responsible firms submitting responsive SOQs. Ranking will be based on a maximum of 100 points, weighted as indicated below. The following criteria will be used in the evaluation of the Proposals: Licensing and Certifications Technical Capabilities Financing Plan for PPA 20 points 30 points 15 points Experience & References 35 points D.1 Licensing and Certifications Final interconnection electrical drawings (for construction) must have New Jersey Registered Professional Electrical Engineer review and approval. Solar power installations must be performed by accredited electrical contractors licensed in New Jersey. D.2 Technical Capabilities Offeror s submittals must convey the technical capabilities of the firm, its staff, and partners (if any). Resumes of the management, operations, and financial staff that will be involved in the DRPA solar projects should be provided. The submission should demonstrate the Offeror s ability to manage multiple projects with concurrent construction timelines. D.3 Financing Plan for PPA The Offeror will be evaluated based on its financial stability and ability to provide timely financing. Offerors should address in detail their range of funding options for the project as well as their prior experience with any proposed financing partners on comparable projects. Offerors should detail why their project financing approaches would offer the best value. Additionally, Offeror s should note that the DRPA anticipated that potential revenues resulting from the sale of Solar Renewable Energy Credits generated by the project (either through transactions with the New Jersey Electric Utilities or some other counterparty) will be necessary to enable an affordable financeable package. D.4 Experience and References Offerors will be evaluated based on their demonstrated experience in developing solar energy projects to full operation. In addition, Offerors will be evaluated on the demonstrated experience of the team s senior management personnel in structuring such projects and bringing such projects into commercial operations on time. If the Offeror is a team or joint venture of multiple companies, the Evaluation Panel will consider the experience of each member of the team or joint venture in light of their role in the proposed team or joint venture. 6