Biomass Wood Chips - Battle Creek VAMC
This Sources Sought Notice is for information and planning purposes only at this time and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION
Background:
The Department of Veterans Affairs, Program Contracting Activity Central (PCAC) is seeking to fulfill the mandated federal agency energy management requirements of increasing renewable energy consumption as stated in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005), Executive Order (EO) 13423, "Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy and Transportation Management," and EO 13514, "Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance." In concert with these requirements, PCAC is seeking potential sources to provide wood chips for a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant at the following site:
SITE: ADDRESS: CITY/STATE:
Battle Creek VA Medical Center 5500 Armstrong Rd Battle Creek, MI 49037
Administrative/Miscellaneous:
The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 113310 (size standard 500 employees) applies to this procurement.
Capability Statement:
Respondents shall provide a general capabilities statement to address the following information:
1. Please identify your company's number of years in business; affiliate information, parent company, and joint venture partners.
2. Provide company business size as designated by the NAICS and the U.S. Small business Administration. Also, provide business status (i.e., Large Business, Small Business, Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, Small Disadvantaged Business, Women-Owned Small Business, Hub Zone Small Business, etc.).
It is requested that interested contractors submit a response (electronic submission) of no more than 10 pages in length that addresses the above information. Please note that hard copies will not be accepted. Please also include a cover page, which includes, at a minimum: the company's name, address, Dun & Bradstreet number, socio-economic status, point-of-contact name, phone number, and e-mail address. Responses must include the Sources Sought number and project title in the subject line of their e-mail response.
The Capabilities Statement for this Sources Sought is not expected to be a Request for Proposal or Invitation for Bid, nor does it restrict the Government to an ultimate acquisition approach. This notice is for information and planning purposes only and is neither to be construed as a commitment by the Government nor will the Government pay for information solicited. No evaluation letters and/or results will be issued to the respondents. After completing its analyses, the Government will determine whether to limit competition among the small business categories listed above or proceed with full and open competition. At this time no solicitation exists; therefore, please do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released it will be synopsized in FedBizOpps at https://www.fbo.gov. It is the potential offeror's responsibility to monitor this site for the release of any solicitation or synopsis.
A draft statement of work (SOW) has also been included in this notice to provide prospective bidders with a sense of scope for the project. This requirement has been previously solicited for as a small business set-aside, but no award was made. The product ("whole tree chips" and "pallet chips") proposed by the apparent successful offeror did not meet the specifications as identified in SOW when the samples were submitted to a testing lab. Therefore, a product of higher quality (i.e. clean wood chips) is desired.
Responses shall be submitted via email to Andrew Neiss ([email protected]) by July 3, 2014 at 2:00 PM (EDT). No phone calls will be accepted.
B.3 STATEMENT OF WORK
1. SCOPE:
The contractor shall provide a consistent supply of biomass fuel of reliable quantity, quality, and size for the new combined heat and power (CHP) plant at the Battle Creek Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC), 5500 Armstrong Road, Battle Creek, Michigan 49037.
2. SCHEDULE:
a. Deliveries are to begin, tentatively, October 1, 2014.
b. The base period of performance is October 1, 2014 - September 30, 2015. Option Year One (1) has a period of performance of October 1, 2015 - September 30, 2016. Option Year Two (2) has a period of performance of October 1, 2016 - September 30, 2017.
c. This will be a Firm Fixed Priced Contract. The total estimated annual consumption is 33,120 tons of wood chips, based on 40% moisture content (see paragraph 3.a.iv below). The estimated consumption for the base period is 12,420 tons, based on 40% moisture content. The contractor is advised that these are estimates only. The potential exists for a change of the total tonnage to be delivered based on several variables, including but not limited to weather and the actual moisture content of the wood chips delivered. Task orders will be issued for a specific period of performance that will designate the estimated tonnage required for that time frame. Task orders may be issued monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, annually, or in any other manner determined to be in the best interest of the government.
d. Price Schedule:
BASE (October 1, 2014 - September 30, 2015)
Items Price ($) Per Ton Estimated Tonnage (33,120 total) Total Estimated Amount ($)
Biomass Wood Chips 33,120
ESTIMATED AMOUNT (BASE):
OPTION YEAR ONE (1) (October 1, 2014 - September 30, 2015)
Items Price ($) Per Ton Estimated Tonnage (33,120 total) Total Estimated Amount ($)
Biomass Wood Chips 33,120
ESTIMATED AMOUNT (OPTION YEAR 1):
OPTION YEAR TWO (2) (October 1, 2015 - September 30, 2016)
Items Price ($) Per Ton Estimated Tonnage (33,120 total) Total Estimated Amount ($)
Biomass Wood Chips 33,120
ESTIMATED AMOUNT (OPTION YEAR 2):
TOTAL CONTRACT ESIMATED AMOUNT (BASE + ALL OPTIONS):
3. REQUIREMENTS:
a. General Specifications:
i. Location: Battle Creek VAMC, 5500 Armstrong Road, Battle Creek, MI 49037
ii. Start Date for Fuel Deliveries: Full capacity deliveries are expected to be needed starting October 1, 2014
iii. The estimated annual total for this requirement is 33,120 tons of wood chips (based on 40% moisture content). The estimated monthly wood chip requirement per month is as follows:
Anticipated Monthly Consumption (assuming system runs 24/7 at design load):
% Moisture Lb/hr US tons/hr US tons/mo
10 4,673 2.34 1685
40 7,602 3.80 2760
55 11,606 5.80 4176
Note that the above figures are a rough estimate based on historic fuel consumption. Consumption of fuel will vary based on steam demand, electrical consumption, CHP Plant performance, weather conditions, fuel characteristics, and other factors.
iv. Site Storage Capacity: 285 tons
v. Desired Delivery Frequency: Daily (Monday - Friday) deliveries will be required, with tonnage based on the above table in paragraph iv.
vi. Truck scales are not available on-site.
vii. The contractor shall be prepared to provide a sufficient quantity of biomass fuel to keep the system in continuous operation 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Contractor shall provide a point of contact and phone number and/or email for scheduling deliveries. The Government will schedule deliveries at least 48 hours in advance.
viii. Special requirements for fuel delivery: See Section 4 below.
b. Manufacturer's fuel specifications:
i. NEXTERRA FUEL SPECIFICATIONS
CHP Systems typically operate on the fuel defined as "clean wood chips". Clean wood chips are free of bark, foliage, dirt and other debris, and typically average 2 B< x 2 B< x B< inch. They are delivered in a consistent size range, and have very little ash content. The Battle Creek VAMC CHP System is designed to operate on clean wood chips conforming to the following specifications:
ii. Fuel Size
Wood residue must be sized to 3 inches minus in all dimensions. Long fibers or sticks that are longer than 3 inches in length are not acceptable. Residues sized less than 1/4 in. must be limited to 25 percent or less.
iii. Fuel Composition
Wood residue must be a clean fresh mix free of substances foreign to natural composition of wood such as preserving chemicals, paint, processing chemicals, glues, sulphurous, phosphorous or nitrogenous chemicals that might be classified as hazardous or appear in flue gas or ash. The fuel should be free of nails or other metal strips. The wood fuel should be free of rotten material which evidences a state of decomposition. The wood fuel should be free of leafy greens or needles.
Fuel must be well mixed with a consistent moisture content level. The System will be able to accommodate seasonal fluctuations in fuel moisture content.
iv. Ultimate and Proximate Analysis
The proximate and ultimate analysis of the fuel on a dry weight basis for performance calculations is as follows (the sample test results must meet these specifications to be rated acceptable):
Proximate Analysis Ultimate Analysis
Component Component
Moisture Content (wet basis) 10-55% Carbon 48-52%
Volatile Content 70-85% Hydrogen 5-6%
Fixed Carbon 15-25% Oxygen 36-44%
Ash
