/ State of California • Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr.
Government Operations Agency

DEPARTMENT OF GENERAL SERVICES

Real Estate Services Division – Energy & Environmental
707 Third Street West Sacramento, CA 95605

October 13, 2015

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALfor SOLAR PV ENERGY

PHASE VI - CDCR

Notice to the Qualified Pool of Solar Service Providers

Established Under the RFQ for Solar Photovoltaic Energy 2015

All Qualified Pool members are invited to review and respond to this Request for Proposal (RFP) for the installation and operation of solar photovoltaic (PV)energy generation systems under athird party ownership power purchase agreement business model. In submitting your response you must comply with allinstructions as provided in this RFP.

Please refer to the template agreements that areattachments to this RFP, as theyinclude the State’s General Terms and Conditions and the Contractor Certification Clauses,GTC 610 and CCC 307, which may also be viewed and downloaded at Internet site . The template agreements attached to this RFP represent the form of agreements that will be entered into for this project award. The State reserves the right to modify these agreements prior to execution. Interested bidders are strongly encouraged to review these template agreements and submit questions in accordance with the prescribed instructions.

In the opinion of the Department of General Servicesthis RFP is complete and without need of explanation. However, if you have questions, or should you need any clarifying information, the RFP Administrator for this RFP is:

Gonzalo Caceres, RFP Administrator

Department of General Services

707 3rd Street, 4thFloor

West Sacramento, CA 95605-2811

(916) 375-4892

All questions and requests for information must be submitted in writing as instructed in this RFP. Please note that no verbal information will be binding upon the State unless such information is subsequently issued in writing as an official addendum.

All response submittals to this RFP must be received by the RFP Administrator by 5:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time (PT) byFriday, November 13, 2015, at the address listed above.

TABLE OF CONTENTSPAGE

1.0 OVERVIEW

1.1Purpose...... 4

1.2Summary...... 4

1.3Definitions...... 5

1.4Schedule of Events...... 5

1.5Issuing Authority and Rationale...... ..6

1.6Time Period Covered by Agreements...... 6

1.7Eligible Bidders/Teams...... 6

1.8Roles and Responsibilities...... 7

1.9Required Documentation...... 8

1.10Other Considerations...... 9

2.0PRODUCTS AND SERVICES REQUESTED

2.1Required & Permissible Products and Services...... 11

2.2State Solar PV System Installation Requirements...... 13

2.3Solar PV System Specifications ...... 13

2.4Guarantee of Minimum Output Performance...... 13

2.5Form of Price Bid…………………………........... 13

3.0EVALUATION PROCESS / PROPOSAL SELECTION

3.1Price Review Criteria...... 15

3.2Confidential or Proprietary Bidder Information...... 15

3.3Award...... 15

4.0 STATE PROCUREMENT REQUIREMENTS

4.1General Rules...... 16

4.2Solar Power Purchase Agreement Template...... 18 4.3 SiteLicense Agreement Template 18 4.4 Insurance 19 4.5 Contractor’s License Information 19

4.6Prevailing Wages...... 20 4.7 Performance and Payment Bonds 20 4.8 Worker’s Compensation Certification 21 4.9 Preference Programs 21

5.0 BIDDER PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

5.1Mandatory Format of RFP Response...... 22

ATTACHMENTSPAGE

1.RFPSite List………………………………………………………………........ 25

Required Proposal Response Forms

Prior to Site Visit:

2.Contact Information Letter………………………….………………...…….……...... 26

With Bid Proposal:

3.Veracity Statement..…………………………….…………………..………...... 28

4.Darfur Contracting Act………………………………………….……..……...... 29

5.General Installation Requirements……………………………………………...... 30

6.Technical & Installation Specifications……………………….………………...... 32

7.Proposal Form 1 – Technology Description ……………………...…..…...... 36

8.Proposal Form 2 –Price Bid Form & Exhibits 8-1, 8-2, 8-3……………...…....... 37

9.Proposal Form 3 – Contractor Documentation…………………….….…...... 39

Attachments 10 and 11 included for informational purposes only

10.Solar Power Purchase AgreementDraft Template………..………...... ……...... 41

11.SiteLicense AgreementDraft Template……………………………...... ……...... 42

12.California’s General Terms and Conditions……………………………...... ……...... 43

13.Aerial Photo of Project Site……………………………...... ……...... 44

14.Billing Information……………………………...... ……...... 45

1.0 OVERVIEW

1.1PURPOSE

The purpose of this Request for Proposals (“RFP”) is to solicit bid responses from the Qualified Pool of solar PV energy service providers (“Qualified Pool”)that will result ina project award for the installation of a commercially available solar photovoltaic energy generating system (“solar PV system”) at theCalifornia Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR)site listed on ATTACHMENT 1 of this RFP. The solar PVsystem is to be installed, operated and maintainedutilizing a third party ownership power purchase agreement business model. The project award will include a non-exclusive license to use a portion of the State owned propertyto install the solar PVsystems(“Licensed Area”). The electricity generation output (“solar PVenergy”) will be sold to CDCRunder apower purchase agreement.

1.2SUMMARY

Interested bidders must propose to finance, design, engineer, construct, install, operate, maintain, and ultimately removea third party owned solar PV system at the C site listed on ATTACHMENT 1 of this RFPwith the awarded bidder(s) to sign a long-term Solar Power Purchase Agreement (“SPPA”) and Site License Agreement (“SLA”)with the State for each site. Bidders are reminded that they will be responsible for all costs related to and necessary for the implementation of the solar PV system. Bidders should reference Exhibit “N”of the SLA (ATTACHMENT11 of this RFP) for identification of State project administration related costs (“Transaction Fees”).

Bidders are advised that the listed sitesareexisting facilities located on State owned property at the address(es) shown on ATTACHMENT 1. The proposed solar PV projectis afree-standing system. The estimated solar PV project size varies by site and is determined inMegawatts Alternating Currency (MW AC). The listed solar PV systems will be awarded to thesuccessful Qualified Pool memberbidder(s).

Energy consumption information provided is based on historical utility billing information, refer to ATTACHMENT 14, this information will be provided as an Addendum prior to the Mandatory Site Visit.

Qualified bidders will be requested to submit two (2) price options for the solar PVenergy in cents per unit of energy for each unit of energy delivered to and metered at the point of interconnection, including the value of all environmental attributes. One option shall bea fixed price rate over the life of the Agreements with no annual price escalators, and the other option shall be a first year fixed price with a fixed annual escalator of between 0 and 2% in each subsequent year as a percentage increase over the previous year. The annual escalator shall not exceed 2%. See ATTACHMENT 8 – PRICE BID FORM for more information.

Projects will be awarded based on best Net Present Value (NPV)as established by Exhibit 8-3 submitted for the solar PVenergy sold to the State host facility. Interested bidders should refer to Section 2.0 and Attachment 1 of this RFP for the scope of required services being requested under this RFP.

1.3DEFINITIONS

1“Contractor” means the solar power energy provider identified in this RFP.

2“Host” or “HOST” means the State agency operating a facility at the location identified in this RFP.

3“LICENSEE” means the entity which holds the license to use the Licensed Area for the Permitted Use pursuant to this SLA.

4"Meter" means a device capable of collecting electricity consumption data that includes kWh AC and fifteen (15) minute or less kW AC and KVAR demands as recorded and may be transmitted or collected via telephone lines or wireless telephone.

5"Net Energy Metering" means a Utility tariff or rule under which customers with qualifying renewable energy projects may “bank”(carry forward a credit) the value of renewable energy produced in periods when such production exceeds the customer’s usage during that period and allows the customer to benefit from such “banked” value during periods when the renewable energy production is less than the customer’s usage.

6"Notice to Proceed" means written notification from the DGS to LICENSEE that LICENSEE may begin construction of the System.

7"Price" means the Price, expressed to the nearest hundredths of a cent ($.0000), to be paid by HOST to CONTRACTOR in each Contract Year for the Electricity generated by the System and delivered to HOST as provided in Section 2.2 of the SPPA.

1.4SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Listed below are important event dates and times associated with this RFP. The State reserves the right to change this schedule and/or events and actions at any time during the RFP period by releasing Addenda.

Event / Important Dates / Notes
Issue RFP / 10/13/2015
Submit Contact Information Letter to CDCR / 10/02/2015 / Mandatory. See
ATTACHMENT 2.
Last Day to Submit Questions / 10/30/2015 / In writing to RFP Administrator
Post Questions and Responses / 11/06/2015 / Posted to BidSync
Proposals Due / 11/13/2015 / To DGS by 5:00 P.M. Pacific Time.
Issue Intent to Award Notices / 11/24/2015 / Posted for 5 business days as per Section 3.3 of this RFP.
Official Project Award / 12/01/2015 / If no protest received by RFP Administrator in writing.

No site visits were requested by 5PM, Pacific Time on Friday, October 16, 2015. Therefore, this section has been updated to reflect the new schedule of events.

Interested bidders should email questions to the RFP Administrator by the date and time as listed above. Responses to questions will be posted as addenda in BidSync.

The Site Visitand Bidder’s Conference is mandatory, attendance is required. Those bidders who do not attend the Site Visit and Bidder’s Conference will not be permitted to submit a price offer. Refer to ATTACHMENT 1.

1.5 ISSUING AUTHORITY AND RATIONALE

This RFP is being issued under the relevant statutory authority granted to the Director of the Department of General Servicesin Government Code Section 15814 andPublic Utilities Code Section 388.

The Department of General Services (“DGS”), in conjunction with the participating State agencies, designed this program to install solar PVsat State facilities where feasible utilizing the third party ownership power purchase agreement business model to achieve executive and legislative policy goals and objectives related to energy and the environment at no cost to the State. The current cost of procuring and operating solar PV systems makes it difficult if not impossible for State agencies to justify the purchase of solar PV systems when compared to the cost of electricity purchased under the otherwise applicable utility tariffs from the serving utilities.

Also, applicable federal tax credits and accelerated depreciation allowances as established by the federal government are un-accessible by State agencies. These are understood to be significant incentives which help to reduce the net cost of procuring and installing clean and/or renewable energy generatingsystems.

The rationale for pursuing this business model is to allow qualified private sector companies, such as those responding to this RFP, to pass on these incentives to the State host facility through comparable solar PVenergy costs on a cents per kilowatt hour (kWh)basis, kilowatt representing 1,000 watts capacity measured in alternating current. An additional advantage to the State is that the operations and maintenance of the solar PV is the responsibility of the third party at their expense with no impact to the State host facility’s maintenance and operations budget.

1.6 TIME PERIOD COVERED BY AGREEMENTS

The term of the solar PV agreements for the installation of the proposedsolar PVproject and sale of solar PVenergyshall be 20 years from the establishment of the Commercial Operation Date (COD), the date that LICENSEE notifies the DGS the system is operational.

1.7 ELIGIBLE BIDDERS/TEAMS

As this RFP is being released to the qualified pool, all pool members are reminded to update and submit the Veracity Statement (ATTACHMENT 3). The bidder or bidding team that was qualified through the RFQ for Solar Photovoltaic Energy 2015and was selected to be a member of the Qualified Pool will be delivering the solar PVsystem for the awarded project under this RFP. Any changes to the bidder or bidding team responding to this RFP made since the Qualified Pool was established will be subject to the review of the State. The State reserves the right to reject the substitute or added team member and the proposal in its entirety, which may lead to a disqualification and removal from the Qualified Pool. Each responding bidder to this RFP must declare in the Veracity Statement (see ATTACHMENT 3) whether they have or have not changed, added, or subtracted from their team as it was originally selected as a member of the Qualified Pool. If changes were made, these changes must be noted in the Veracity Statement, which may then be subject to request for additional information for review.

1.8 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

State Agency/Host Site/Department

  • Nominate and approve candidate sites.
  • Provide information and relevant data as requested.
  • Host site visits.
  • Review site-specific proposals, including technical description, installation plans, system operations and solar PV power prices.
  • Make final acceptance decision on proposed projects and price offers.
  • Execute solar PV agreements.
  • Make best efforts to facilitate and support the installation of the solar PVin accordance with the solar PV agreements.
  • Pay for the solar PVenergypursuant to the terms of the power purchase agreement.
  • Manage partnership with third party pursuant tothe solar PV agreements.

Department of General Services

  • Prepare the RFP and solar PV agreements.
  • Manage the RFP solicitation process and proposal review panels.
  • Work with State agencies and/or Departments to obtain Department of Finance transaction approvals for each State site as necessary.
  • Manage the processing and execution of the solar PV agreements for each project.
  • Recover costs of DGS program support services through Transaction Costs.
  • Manage tasks for each project’s due diligence, environmental, and design review, and construction inspection and acceptance.
  • By arrangement with host site, and pursuant to the solar PV agreements, review billings where there are disputes, special requests, and/or to monitor program performance.
  • Provide program support and assistance as necessary and requested.

3rd Party Solar PVService Providers

  • Determinetechnical and economic feasibility of proposed projectsand submitprice offers pursuant tothe RFP.
  • Execute the solar PV agreements after project award.
  • Finance the system installation.
  • Pay transaction costs pursuant tothe energy agreements.
  • Design the installation for site-specific conditions and provide complete information and documentation to facilitate reviews and construction inspections.
  • Apply for and secure any and all environmental permits as necessary and/or required.
  • Construct and install system equipment in compliance with approved plans, specifications and applicable California Building Codes and regulations, as well as any and all State host facility requirements.
  • Apply for incentives and interconnection pursuant toutility or incentive program requirements.
  • Install system metering and interconnection to utility gridpursuant torequirements.
  • Own, maintain and operate the system for the term of the solar PV agreements.
  • Bill host site for solar PV energy produced.
  • Be familiar with, and knowledgeable of, all requirements of the solar PV agreements, and adhere to these requirements.

In all cases each participating State agency or Department retains the final decision whether to enter into an agreement for the installation of a solar PV system and purchase of solar PV energy for each listed State host facility.

1.9 REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION

The following documents will be required of the winning bidder for the eventual transactions in this program:

  • Site License Agreement (SLA) between HOST,DGS, and 3rd Party (see ATTACHMENT 11).
  • Solar Power Purchase Agreement (SPPA) between HOST and 3rd Party (see ATTACHMENT 10).
  • Design and installation documentation (see SLA Exhibit F - Project Design & Installation Process).

Proof of contractor’s liability and workman’s compensation insurance (see Section 4.4 Insurance). Insurers shall have a current A.M. Best’s ratings of no less than A:X.

  • Performance bond (see SLA Section 7.6)for each solar PV system for State host facility staff.

Winning bidder will be responsible for obtaining several utility documents that need to be processed in order to install the solar PV system. These include the following:

  • Incentive application for solar PV incentives.
  • Interconnection agreements.
  • Any documents related to Proof of Project Advancement.
  • Incentive agreement and award.

The State host facility and/or Department will receive from the winning bidder copies of the final executed documents for each document listed above including As Built plans for each installed solar PV system.

The State will not accept alternative language for the SLA or SPPA from a prospective bidder. A proposal with such language will be considered a counter proposal and may be rejected on that basis alone at the sole discretion of the State. The State’s General Terms and Conditions are not negotiable.

After the awards have been made, the State will designate or identify a single DGS contact person to coordinate subsequent discussion with the final successful bidder(s), coordinate site access, facilitate detailed design and installation determinations, and execute the solar PV agreements. The DGS will originate and coordinate the execution of the solar PV agreements, and any other tasks and activities as requested or designated by each State host facility and/or Department.

1.10 OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

California Solar Initiative (CSI)Incentive Program or Other Incentive

Applicability and Limitations

The program assumes that all participating State host facilities and/or Departments will take maximum permissible advantage of Californiasolar PVincentives for the installation of solar PVsystems, as offered by each utility service entity or any other granting authority. All bidders should seek to take maximum advantage of any other applicable incentives, such as state and federal tax credits and any allowable accelerated depreciation. To the extent that the utility customer of record must apply for any California incentives, this RFP assumes that the State host facilities or Departments will assign these to the final successful bidder as per the solar PV agreements.

Bidders should anticipate that reservation requests or applications for utility incentives related to solar PVs (i.e. the California Solar Initiative Incentive Program) have not been submitted nor secured for the State host facilities listed in ATTACHMENT 1. The State will not be responsible for the payment of any incentive deposits or fees. It is recommended that bidders account for the required solar PV incentive reservation deposit as a part of the project cost.

In the event that the rules and regulations associated with the California Solar Initiative (CSI) Incentive Program or other relevant incentive program change, as mandated by the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) and as it relates specifically to any energy efficiency requirements, and if the State host facility is deemed to not be in compliance with any new requirements as such, the State host facility will evaluate the feasibility and timing of complying with these new requirements, and at their sole discretion will decide to either implement the necessary energy efficiency requirements, or terminate the Solar PV agreements.