Description: |  | National Nuclear Security Administration Service Center
Request for Information (RFI)
Regarding the Purchase of Renewable Electrical Energy
For Pantex Plant - Amarillo, Texas and
Kansas City Plant - Kansas City, Missouri
1 Background
National Nuclear Security Administration Service Center - The U. S. Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration Security Administration Service Center (NNSA) has management and administrative responsibility for various national laboratories and weapons production plants that were formerly administered by the U.S. Department of Energy. Through this RFI, NNSA is seeking sources of non-hydroelectric renewable energy generated from solar, geothermal, biomass, or wind technologies to supply up to 7 ½% of electric energy requirements of the NNSA Pantex Plant, located approximately 17 miles northeast of Amarillo, Texas and the NNSA Kansas City Plant, located at 1200 East Banister Road, Kansas City, Missouri.
NNSA owns and operates substation facilities and distribution facilities that connect to the transmission system of Southwestern Public Service (SPS) and Kansas City Power and Light (KCPL). SPS currently supplies the full requirements of the Pantex Plant and KCPL currently supplies the full requirements of the Kansas City Plant. Both locations are supplied under retail service tariffs.
The NNSA is requesting information regarding options to supply non-hydroelectric renewable energy to be delivered to SPS for redelivery to the Pantex Plant and to KCPL for redelivery to the Kansas City Plant. Owners and/or marketers of renewable resources located in Texas, Missouri and/or neighboring states are encouraged to respond. Alternatively, renewable sources located adjacent to either the Pantex Plant or the Kansas City Plant may consider direct connection to the NNSA owned distribution switchgear.
2 Desired Resource Characteristics
2.1 Amount and Type of Power -Approximately 17 gegawatt hours (GWh) is required annually. Of this amount approximately 5.5 GWh annually is required for the Pantex Plant facilities and approximately 11.5 GWh annually is required for the Kansas City Plant facilities. The NNSA will consider only sources of non-hydroelectric renewable energy supplies for this RFI that include the green attributes.
2.2 Types of Resources Considered - Energy will be considered from existing resources as well as from future resources that are committed to become operational during the period of consideration. The NNSA will consider only sources of non-hydroelectric renewable energy resources for this RFI.
2.3 Full/Partial/ Renewable Energy Requirements - The NNSA is interested in receiving responses from non-hydroelectric renewable energy providers that could supply in part or in total the approximate 17 GWh requirement. Respondents may respond for either the Pantex Plant or the Kansas City Plant or both, but are not required to address the combined requirements of both sites.
3 Evaluation Criteria - The following criteria are used by NNSA to evaluate the suitability of resources. Respondents may wish to address these criteria in their responses.
3.1.1 Cost - The total delivered cost per megawatt hour (MWh) for delivery to the SPS or KCPL transmission system, taking into account capacity charges, energy charges, on-peak and off-peak pricing, escalation factors, ancillary service charges, transmission costs, administrative costs, and any other charges included in the response to get the energy to the two transmission systems. NNSA has initiated discussions with SPS and KCPL for network transmission service arrangements to redeliver power to the Pantex Plant and the Kansas City Plant. NNSA will work with the respondents and the associated utilities to develop appropriate delivery arrangements, and NNSA will be responsible for the transmission service and ancillary service costs on the SPS and KCPL transmission systems.
Respondents should include a description of the proposed resource, scheduling restrictions and requirements, term, conditions on term extension or cancellation, and pricing terms (basic rates and charges, escalation factors, adjustment factors, penalties for failure to deliver, rates/escalation for term extension).
Respondents proposing non-dispatchable resources should provide the NNSA with an estimated generation profile on a daily/weekly/seasonal/annual basis, as appropriate to the particular generating resource(s) described.
3.1.2 Environmental Impact - The environmental impact of the generating resource(s), based on technology used to generate the power, and compliance with applicable environmental regulations.
Respondents should consider supplying information about the technology, type renewable energy source, generating efficiency, and compliance with applicable environmental regulations for the generating resource(s) proposed. Respondents proposing a variety of resources and technologies should consider including the requested information about each resource and technology type where possible, and the approximate percent contribution of each to the total resource proposed.
3.1.3 Dependability - Generating resource(s) dependability, based on forced outage rates, scheduled maintenance outages, and the dependability of the transmission system involved in delivering the power.
Respondents should consider specifying the generating unit(s) or system(s) supplying the power and consider providing information about the historical dependability of the generating resource(s) using industry standard measures such as capacity factor and forced outage rates, or to provide typical outage rates for similar generating facilities of the same manufacturer, owner, technology, age, and type.
3.2 Transmission Availability and Transmission System Loading
3.2.1 Transmission Availability - The availability and adequacy of transmission capacity between the resource offered and the SPS or KCPL system to deliver the resource and reliance on transmission system additions and upgrades and other transmission costs to provide the transmission capacity needed for delivery.
Respondents should consider providing information about the transmission path(s), terms of third party transmission agreements, and procedures for curtailing deliveries.
3.2.2 Transmission Service to Delivery Points- Respondents will be responsible for arranging all the transmission service and ancillary services needed to deliver energy to the SPS and KCPL transmission systems. NNSA is working on transmission service arrangements with SPS and KCPL for delivery of renewable energy to the Pantex Plant and the Kansas City Plant facilities.
3.3 Dispatchability - The ability of the proposed generating resource(s) to respond to changes in customer load or to schedules by the NNSA. The flexibility of the resource to deliver less energy than the maximum amounts in Section 2.1, due to power system conditions.
3.4 Risk and Supplier Responsibility - The risk that the supplier will be unable to deliver the required amounts of capacity and energy, or lacks the financial resources to be able to continue operating for the entire time period proposed.
Respondents may wish to address both their financial stability and their operating capability by providing information such as: annual reports, Securities and Exchange Commission 10-K and FERC Form 1 reports (where applicable), audited financial statements including income statements and balance sheets, bond ratings, evidence of required licenses, FERC approval to sell power at market-based rates (where applicable), accreditations and certifications, and information on relevant regulatory oversight.
3.5 Diversity ? Respondents should discuss the possibility that the failure of a single generating unit or transmission facility will interrupt power delivery. Also, the respondents should address the possibility that future environmental or other regulations will increase the cost of generation and make it uneconomic.
Respondents should consider including information about resource diversity, such as whether the resources are system resources or unit resources.
3.6 Delivery Points - The Federal loads are located in the Amarillo, Texas and Kansas City, Missouri area. Preferred delivery points for power are either direct ties to the Pantex Plant or Kansas City Plant distribution switchgear, or at any point on the SPS or KCPL transmission systems. The NNSA may consider other delivery points if transmission availability and cost are such that the resulting resource is cost competitive.
4 Legal and Regulatory Issues
Department of Energy National Environmental Policy Act Compliance - If the NNSA were to contract for resources that have yet to be constructed, it would first be required to consider the potential environmental impacts of constructing and operating the resource as required by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and the Department of Energy NEPA Implementing Procedures (40 CFR 1021).
5 Timeframe - The NNSA is interested in committed resources that would be available for a five to 10 year period, with initial deliveries beginning on or before October 1, 2005.
6 Process and Timing
6.1 Process - The NNSA will evaluate all responses received and inform its customer of pertinent characteristic of the resources.
6.2 Timing - Responses should be received in the NNSA by 5:00 p.m. Mountain Standard Time (MST) on the due date set forth in 6.3 to be considered in our evaluation.
6.2.1 Notification - The NNSA will provide an acknowledgment to all responses received. We may seek additional information or clarification to individual responses as needed.
6.3 Submission of Responses - The NNSA will accept responses that are e-mailed, mailed or faxed. The address of the NNSA Service Center is:
Department of Energy
National Nuclear Security Administration
Service Center ? Albuquerque Office
P.O. Box 5400
Albuquerque, NM 87185-5400
Responses can be faxed to the NNSA at (505) 845-4210, attention Milton West. Offers should be received in the NNSA by 5:00 p.m. MST, November 10, 2003. Questions about this RFI can be submitted to the same address, e-mailed to the NNSA at the address mwest@doeal.gov, or by telephone to Milton West at (505) 845-4452.
6.1 Use of Information in Offers - The NNSA will provide information to the customer about the supplier, cost, terms, and conditions of the resources. The NNSA will not divulge identifying information in responses to others not involved in this RFI process, but may supply general information about the responses received to other federal customers or NNSA employees if requested. The NNSA may choose to pursue other resource needs unrelated to the requirements described in this RFI based on the responses received.
6.2 Confidentiality - If respondents do not wish to have part or all of the information in their offer available to the public, indicate that by marking the sensitive sections of the response ?Confidential.?
7 Documentation submitted by Respondent - Responses should include information about the respondent submitting the proposal. Respondents should consider providing the information requested in Sections 2 and 3 in their responses. Including extraneous information in responses that is not requested in the RFI is discouraged. |