Description
Introduction & Background The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (Public Law No. 117-169, August 16, 2022, 136 Stat. 1818-2090) (“IRA”) marked one of the most significant actions Congress has taken on clean energy and climate change in the Nation’s history. Among the IRA’s goals were investing in domestic energy production and manufacturing and reducing carbon emissions by roughly 40 percent by 2030. The U.S. General Services Administration (“GSA”), in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”), will invest $30 million from the IRA to increase the sustainability of Federal buildings by testing novel technologies through GSA’s Center for Emerging Building Technologies (“CEBT”). CEBT consists of three interconnected programs: the Green Proving Ground (“GPG”), the Applied Innovation Learning Lab (“AILL”), and Pilot to Portfolio. Collectively, these programs empower GSA to invest wisely in next-generation building technologies by evaluating emerging and sustainable technologies in real-world settings, accelerate GSA’s efforts to achieve net-zero emissions in Federal buildings, and support President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to deliver cost savings for Federal buildings, create good-paying clean energy jobs, and help reach Federal sustainability goals. Buildings consume approximately 40% of U.S. primary energy and 75% of electricity and are responsible for 12% of the U.S. greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions.5,6 In June 2024, DOE published a national definition of a Zero Emissions Building7 and laid out a blueprint to reduce U.S. building emissions 65% by 2035 and 90% by 2050. Field validations of high-efficiency retrofits, targeted electrification of specific end uses, and on-site renewable energy generation and storage solutions can accelerate the broad adoption of technologies to combat the climate crisis and help domestic building stock stakeholders achieve these ambitious goals. In addition, the transportation industry is responsible for 27% of the U.S. GHG emissions. The Federal Government needs innovative solutions to transition a fleet of 450,000 vehicles to zero-emission vehicles, including technology to manage and optimize fleet charging and integrate electric vehicle supply equipment into the existing facility infrastructure. Working towards these and other goals, GSA and DOE are issuing this Request for Information (“RFI”) to obtain responses from vendors and other interested parties on technologies that help reduce GHG emissions of commercial buildings and vehicle fleets, improve grid resiliency, and have significant potential for equitable and broad adoption in the U.S. marketplace. This includes technologies that support deep energy retrofits, all-electric buildings and all-electric vehicle fleets, net-zero operations, healthy and resilient buildings, and low-embodied carbon building materials. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a Request for Proposal (“RFP”). Neither GSA nor DOE will issue an RFP as a follow-up to this RFI. Responses to this RFI are not offers and will not be accepted by the Federal Government to form an agreement or binding contract of any nature. Program Overview GSA’s mission is to deliver the best value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services to the Federal Government and the American people. GSA supports over 1 million Federal civilian workers and has jurisdiction, custody or control over more than 8,800 Federally owned or leased properties totaling approximately 370 million square feet of workspace. The CEBT programs enable GSA to make sound investment decisions in next-generation building technologies based on their real-world performance. By evaluating innovative technologies early in their development and placing them strategically in Federal properties, GSA has become widely recognized as a leader in the commercial building industry. Since its inception in 2011, the GPG program has evaluated dozens of next-generation building technologies in real-world operational settings, recommending the most promising for deployment within GSA’s real estate portfolio. The AILL program is developing a whole-building approach to sustainable operations by identifying replicable technology stacks that deliver net-zero operations. These CEBT programs help GSA make sound investment decisions that can greatly benefit the American taxpayer. More information about these programs is available at gsa.gov/cebt. The mission of DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (“EERE”) is to accelerate the research, development, demonstration, and deployment of technologies and solutions to transition America equitably to net-zero GHG emissions economy-wide by no later than 2050, and ensure the clean energy economy benefits all Americans, creating good paying jobs for the American people—especially workers and communities impacted by the energy transition and those historically underserved by the energy system and overburdened by pollution. More information about EERE can be found at https://www.energy.gov/eere. Purpose of this RFI Responses to this RFI will be evaluated and considered for inclusion in GSA’s GPG or AILL programs (for Federally owned facilities), the Demonstrating Efficient Solutions - Buildings (“DES-B”) program facilitated by DOE (for privately owned facilities), or any combination of the foregoing. GSA and DOE will use information obtained through this RFI to identify and evaluate the most promising next-generation technologies and solutions that can: 1. Enable energy efficiency and decarbonization in commercial buildings; 2. Contribute to a more efficient electric infrastructure; and 3. Improve resiliency and occupant health. Third-party subject matter experts will evaluate the technologies selected for measurement and verification (“M&V”) against quantitative and qualitative performance objectives under dynamic, real-world conditions in Federally or privately owned commercial buildings, or both, in multiple climate zones. The outcomes of this evaluation will provide credible, independent performance data, thereby helping to facilitate the broader adoption of these technologies by facility owners and operators, occupants, utilities, and third-party financiers. Terms and Conditions: Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.215-3, Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes (Oct 1997) (a) The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this solicitation or to otherwise pay for the information solicited except as an allowable cost under other contracts as provided in subsection 31.205-18, Bid and proposal costs, of the Federal Acquisition Regulation. (b) Although "proposal" and "offeror" are used in this Request for Information, your response will be treated as information only. It shall not be used as a proposal. (c) This solicitation is issued for the purpose of gathering information on new sustainable building technologies. Please see the attached documents for instructions on submitting your response to this RFI.