Request for Proposals for Photovoltaic System Installation Presented by: Prepared by: Location: Contact: Date: Capitol Hill Housing Foundation Bonneville Environmental Foundation, Renewable Energy Group Holiday Apartments, 1001 E John Street, Seattle, WA 98102 Joel Sisolak, EcoDistrict Project Director, Capitol Hill Housing, 206-204- 3844, JSisolak@capitolhillhousing.org 07/31/2014 Project Introduction This Request for Proposals (RFP) is to solicit proposals from photovoltaic (PV) system installers (Contractor) to design, supply and install an independent photovoltaic system at a residential apartment building owned and operated by Holiday Apartments LP in Seattle, WA (location). The PV capacity installed at this location will be sold to Seattle City Light customers who participate in a community solar program. This program will utilize the production incentive payment via Washington State s Renewable Energy Cost Recovery Incentive Payment Program. Seattle City Light administers the operations of the community solar program in Seattle. Capitol Hill Housing, a community development corporation, leads the Capitol Hill EcoDistrict, a neighborhood- scale sustainability project. CHH considers this solar project a pilot for expanding similar scale solar installations within the EcoDistrict. The total installed capacity will be at Holiday Apartments (Holiday) will be 24.3 kw DC nameplate. The overall cost/watt installed (including taxes) and the use of a ballast racking system for flat roofs will be models for future similar installations in SCL territory. Therefore respondents should give priority to price, schedule, and best- practices installation standards in their proposals. The information presented in this RFP document has been assembled to facilitate proposals for a PV system design that meets SCL s requirements at the Holiday Apartments location. However, respondents are responsible for attending the scheduled site tour, performing their own site- evaluations, and confirming all information provided - or requesting any additional material required for proposals.
Project General Requirements A. The contractor will be responsible for producing the complete PV system design, procuring all required materials and installing all materials in compliance with applicable national and local codes. B. The contractor will be responsible for securing the electrical permits required to complete the scope of work outlined in this RFP. C. The contractor will be responsible for securing the necessary building permits, and any needed engineering, required to complete the contractor s scope of work outlined in this RFP. D. The contractor shall pay its workers wages that are no less than the current Washington State prevailing wage rate for residential construction in King County. Contractors will be responsible for compliance with all prevailing wage regulations and reporting as required by Washington State law. E. The contractor will be required to generate estimates of annual energy production for the Holiday location from the date of commissioning through June 20 th, 2020 for the purposes of WA State incentive payments. This system performance estimate will be required as part of the RFP response. F. The contractor shall include all required additional materials and services associated with installation of the DECK Monitoring system as specified in this RFP. Project Walkthrough The mandatory site walk through for contractors interested in this project will be held at the installation location on: Friday, August 15th, 2014 at 2:00 pm. The on- site contact for both walkthroughs will be Joel Sisolak. Contractors must attend the site walks to be eligible to submit proposals for this project. Contractors should meet at the Holiday east parking lot. RFP Response Due Date Proposals are due in electronic format to Joel Sisolak at Capitol Hill Housing by: Friday, August 29th, 2014 at 5:00 pm. RFP Response Evaluation Capitol Hill Housing Foundation and Seattle City Light will evaluate proposals based Primary Proposal Criteria that will include price, schedule, and system performance (primary proposal criteria will be noted in the body of the RFP). Additional consideration will be given to design completeness, including details that illustrate the contractor s understanding of the requested scope- of- work or that enhance performance/aesthetics of the proposed photovoltaic system. Including a SLD showing the PV system component and the data monitoring equipment.
Proposed Installation Schedule TASK: DATE: 1 Issue RFP 07/21/14 2 Site walkthrough 08/15/14 3 Proposal Due 08/29/14 4 Sign Contract 09/05/14 5 Apply for Permits 09/05/14 5 Begin Construction 10/01/14 6 Project installation Complete 10/17/14 7 Project Inspected by AHJ 10/24/14 8 Project Commissioned 10/31/14 RFP Attachments (1) Attachment A Project Documentation Checklist (2) Attachment B Holiday Roof Plan (3) Attachment C Holiday Rendering Capitol Hill Housing Community Solar Project RFP: 1. Contractor Requirements: A. Preference for local Contractors (Based in Seattle or the Puget Sound area) B. Licensed contractor in Washington C. Contractor shall have staff assigned to this project with active NABCEP certifications D. Bonded and insured $1,000,000. 00 per occurrence, $2,000,000. 00 aggregate 2. RFP Response shall include: A. Title: Capitol Hill Housing Foundation Community Solar Project B. Background information on your company (1) Contractor license number (2) Proof of insurance (3) Number of years in business (4) Installation manager s contact information (5) Resumes or qualifications, education, and relevant experiences of key team members (6) Descriptions of similar projects completed by Contractor. Specifically experience with PV system installations greater than 20 kw DC nameplate (7) Professional references C. Detailed Single- Line Diagram (SLD) identifying: (1) Make and model of all photovoltaic system components
(2) Make and model of all photovoltaic balance of system components (3) Wire and conduit detail including quantity, size and type (4) Proposed locations of all system components D. Specification sheets of major system components including racking components E. Lump- sum (fixed price) proposal for all services (including but not limited to labor, materials, transport, permitting and engineering) associated with the design and installation of permitted and operational PV systems at the Holiday location Primary Proposal Criteria (1) Company labor and material mark- up rates for potential change orders F. Proposed construction plan with timeline (include completion dates for major project milestones) Primary Proposal Criteria G. Estimates of annual energy (kwh) production for each of the proposed PV systems. Include separate estimates each discrete system (at the Holiday location). Annual energy production estimates should detail energy production for the first year of operation as well as each operational year through June 30 th, 2020 Primary Proposal Criteria 3A. Holiday Apartments PV System Description A. Location (1) Holiday Apartments, Seattle, WA B. Size (1) Total system size: 24.3 kw DC Nameplate C. Interconnection (1) Grid Connected to Seattle City Light via a 2000A. 120/208V, 3 phase main service (2) New or upgraded main house load panel with 200A or 225A main bus bar ampacity with 100A main OCPD connected to House Meter #44471 (3) New 100A PV combining AC subpanel (4) Building net meter provided by Seattle City Light (5) AC disconnect located in the existing electrical room. Seattle City Light will need to approve final location. (6) PV energy production meter located in the existing electrical room. Seattle City Light will need to approve final location. (7) Seattle City Light approved placards identifying the location of the PV system disconnect will be required at the existing revenue meter location 4A. Holiday Apartments PV System Components A. Mounting system (1) Renusol ballasted racking system (2) Tilt: 15º (3) Orientation: apx 180º, matching building orientation B. PV Modules (1) 90x Itek Energy IT- 270 HE
C. Inverters (1) ELTEK THEIA HE- t UL, isolated, grid- tied string inverters (2) Located inside the existing electrical room (3) Point of interconnection will be a new 100A electrical panel connected to upgraded 200A or 225A panel on the load side of House Meter #44471 D. Balance of Systems (1) 1x PV system AC disconnect, lockable in on and off positions (2) 1x PV system production meter base to provide aggregate energy production metering of entire Holiday Apartments PV system (3) 1x PV system AC combining electrical panel to allow aggregate interconnection of the entire PV system to new dedicated 100A PV subpanel. (4) Upgrade of existing electrical panel to 200A or 225A busbars with 100A OCPD (5) New sub panel to connect to House Meter #44471 (6) All components to accommodate aggregate PV system back feed current and ensure compliance with 2011 NEC Section 705 requirements (7) All other DC and AC wiring, raceways, enclosures, components, fittings and fasteners to ensure compliance with NEC, local AHJ and utility interconnection requirements (8) All necessary labeling required by AHJ and Seattle City Light E. PV System Energy Monitoring (1) DECK Monitoring equipment All- in- One with CT meters. (2) DECK Equipment should be located inside the existing electrical room (3) 120V AC power receptacle(s) for DECK Monitoring equipment enclosure (4) RS- 485 wiring (conduit if required) from DECK equipment to ELTEK inverters (5) Shielded CAT5e cabling to connect to existing Holiday Park Apartments manager s office broadband service. 5. Services Requested from Contractor A. System Design Contractor must submit (or confirm if already submitted as part of RFP package and unchanged) the following design documents prior to system installation (1) Detailed Site Diagram showing: Elevation and plan view of PV array location and/or 3- D rendering Elevation of electrical equipment (inverter & disconnects) layout (2) Electrical Single- line diagram - Must include all information about major system components specifications and ratings, conductor size and type, conduit size, ratings of combiner boxes and series OCPD s, and type and ratings of facility electrical panel interconnection point. (3) Wire Sizing Calculations Ampacities of conductors shall be determined using NEC tables. Voltage drops for PV source, output and inverter output circuits shall be determined by hand calculations and limited to manufacturer recommendations or tolerances.
(1) PV Array Racking The Contractor will be responsible for generating the PV array racking design and attachment methodology. Contractor shall provide this information to Seattle Structural for the purposes of obtaining a building permit from Seattle DPD. (2) Field Verification Contractor must field verify design feasibility and/or all record documents and prepare own as- builts prior to commencing work in order to ensure proper system installation and adherence to contract timeline. B. Project Documentation (1) Contractor will be responsible for maintaining accuracy of design documentation listed in 5.A. during project construction and will submit as- built documentation to Capitol Hill Housing Foundation upon project completion. (2) Contractor will be responsible for generating a complete and detailed project construction schedule once all permits are secured. The project schedule should help Capitol Hill Housing Foundation and Seattle City Light understand the timing and duration of work and in which areas of the two facilities the work will occur. C. Procure materials (1) Contractor shall be responsible for procuring all system materials, as outlined in the system description, unless otherwise indicated above that it will be supplied by Capitol Hill Housing Foundation or others. D. PV System installation (1) Contractor shall be responsible for installing a grid- tied photovoltaic installation at the host facility. The installation must be compliant with the current NEC and/or local authority having jurisdiction (AHJ). It is the installer s responsibility to ensure code compliance with the local authorities. The installation shall be executed according to the system design documentation. The Facility Owner must approve any design changes made in the field. (2) Painting (color matching) of the PV system BoS equipment will be required as determined by the Capitol Hill Housing Foundation. Any interior or exterior equipment, conduit and hardware may need to be painted to match the existing facility. It will be the responsibility of the Contractor to generate a schedule of equipment to be painted and to confirm colors with Capitol Hill Housing. E. Interconnection (1) Contractor shall coordinate with the utility to confirm acceptable location for Production meter and AC disconnect at each site. It will be the responsibility of the Contractor to ensure that any and all other documentation necessary to meet permit and utility requirements is submitted to Seattle City Light or Seattle DPD.
(2) It shall be the Responsibility of the Contractor to ensure that the production meter has been installed, the net meter has been installed and the system has passed all required AHJ and utility inspections. F. Electrical Permit (1) It will be the responsibility of the Contractor to obtain electrical permit, schedule inspections and pay associated fees G. Building Permit (1) It will be the responsibility of the Contractor to obtain building permit, and to provide all plans and/or calculations needed to obtain a building permit. H. System Documentation (1) Contractor must deliver all documentation to Capitol Hill Housing Foundation as outlined in Attachment A: Project Documentation Checklist. I. System Commissioning (1) Contractor shall develop a PV system commissioning protocol to assure the system is operating as designed. Contractor will be responsible for developing the requisite commissioning documentation to be approved by Capitol Hill Housing Foundation prior to commissioning. The final PV system commissioning report shall be included in the project documentation. J. Final Walk through (1) Contractor shall schedule a tour of the completed and operating PV system with the Facility Owner. K. System warranty (1) Contractor will be required to provide a 10- year workmanship warranty.
Attachment A: Documentation Checklist!!! Project(Documentation(Checklist(!! The!contractor!will!provide!Operations!and!Maintenance!Binders!(O&M!Binder),!tabbed!and!with!table!of! contents,!that!include!the!following!documentation.!binders!must!be!received,!complete,!before!final! payment!will!be!issued.!!please!return!this!checklist!with!the!o&m!binder.!please!check!the!boxes!to! indicate!which!documents!have!been!included.!if!a!document!is!not!required,!or!does!not!apply,!for!the! project!please!initial!as!appropriate.!!!!!! Item!!!!!!!!! Initials:!!! Photovoltaic!System!Commissioning!Checklist!!!!!!! Lien!Release!Affidavit!!!!!!!!!! Signed!Warranty!Letter!from!GC!and!all!subs!!!!!!! Photos!of!completed!system!!!!!!!!! Site!Diagrams!!!!!!!!!!! Electrical!Single!Line!Diagram!!!!!!!!! Electrical!Calculations!!!!!!!!!! Solar!Module!Warranty!and!Operators!Manual!!!!!!! Solar!Module(s)!Serial!Numbers!!!!!!!!! Inverter!Manual!!!!!!!!!!! Inverter!Warranty!and!Registration!Card!!!!!!!! Inverter!Serial!Number(s)!!!!!!!!!! Data!Monitoring!Documentation!(Serial!No./MAC/IP!Address)!!!!!! Electrical!Work!Permit!!!!!!!!!! Approved!and!signed!electrical!inspection!!!!!!!! Building!Permit!(if!necessary)!!!!!!!!! Sealed!approval!from!licensed!PE!of!all!mounting! or!structural!designs!(if!necessary)!!!!!!!!! Any!and!all!other!documentation!necessary!to!meet!!! state/local!or!utility!requirements!!!!!!!! Including:!!!! Net!Metering!Agreement!!!!!!!!!!
Attachment B: Roof Plans
Attachment C: Renderings