The U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center has issued a draft Request for Proposal (RFP) to purchase renewable power from renewable and alternative energy assets constructed and operated on or near military installations. As part of the Department of Defense’s Congressional mandate to produce or procure at least 25% of its energy (both thermal and electric) from renewable resources by 2025, the Army intends to enter into up to $7 billion in contracts through power purchase agreements (PPAs), as well as other available contracting authorities over the next 10 years.

The Army does not intend to own or operate any generation assets through this indefinite delivery / indefinite quantity contracting vehicle, nor will it provide financing to project developers. Instead, the Army will utilize third party financing, and enter into long-term PPA contracts, with a maximum tenor of 30 years. Projects under 4 MW will be set aside for small businesses.

This draft RFP, entitled Large Scale Renewable and Alternative Energy Power Production for Army Installations, is being provided to solicit industry comments over the next few weeks. Companies interested in competing in the future solicitation should review the draft RFP and submit comments as warranted. The draft RFP is available at the Federal Business Opportunities website here. All comments must be submitted by March 21, 2012 on the ProjNet website in accordance with the instructions in the draft RFP.

The Army intends to host a pre-proposal conference for interested companies shortly after release of the final RFP.