INSTALLATION
A guide to bidding for, procuring and performing federal solar contracts BY C H R I S TO P H E R H O R TO N | PA R T N E R | S M I T H , C U R R I E & H A N CO C K L L P
The
federal government is the largest energy purchaser in the United States, with an annual electricity bill for the fiscal year 2019 of almost $4 billion. As a result, President Joe Biden’s administration is aggressively pursuing 100% clean energy and netzero emissions by 2050. In fiscal year 2020, federal agencies invested over $842 million in energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements. It is expected that this number will continue to grow as federal agencies seek to improve energy systems and infrastructures for federal buildings. The increased focus on construction and improvements
related to renewable energy provides solar contractors with a great opportunity to grow their business through federal contracting. Doing business with the federal government, however, is very different from contracting in the commercial and residential sectors. An overview of government construction contracting The federal government procures construction services and materials through multiple agencies. All procurement notices for federal contracts over $25,000 are posted on the newlylaunched System for Award Management
(SAM) website. Contractors can use this new website to register for business with the federal government, search for contracting opportunities and manage and monitor the procurement process. The type of information contained within the site includes pre-solicitation notices, solicitation notices, award notices and sole source notices. To be eligible to compete for government contracts, it is necessary for the solar contractor to obtain a data universal numbering system (DUNS) and then register with SAM. Solar vendors who want to sell to the government should be familiar with the General Services Administration
A 5-MW solar system at Fort Campbell in Kentucky installed in 2017 accounts for 10% of the base’s energy needs.
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SOLAR POWER WORLD // 2022 RENEWABLE ENERGY HANDBOOK
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