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SECTION 1 - INTRODUCTION

THIS IS A COMBINED SYNOPSIS/ SOLICITATION FOR COMMERICAL ITEMS PREPARED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FORMAT IN FAR SUBPART 12.6, STREAMLINED PROCEDURES FOR EVALUATION AND SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS, AS SUPPLEMENTED WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION INCLUDED IN THIS NOTICE. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION; QUOTATIONS ARE BEING REQUESTED, AND A SEPARATE WRITTEN SOLICITATION DOCUMENT WILL NOT BE ISSUED. THE SOLICITATION IS BEING ISSUED USING SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION PROCEDURES.

The Request for Quotations (RFQ) number is NB732030-23-02681. This synopsis/solicitation constitutes a RFQ and incorporates provisions and clauses in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2023-02 June, 2023.

This acquisition is being competed as 100% small business set-aside. The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 541519- Other computer related services. It is being issued using the simplified acquisition procedures under the authority of FAR Subpart 13.5—Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items.

Background:

The Applied Economics Office (AEO) and Heat Transfer and Alternative Energy Systems (HTAES) Group in the Engineering Laboratory of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) contribute to the advancement of measurement science needed to achieve net-zero energy, high-performance buildings. One key component to achieving net-zero energy is advanced building energy technologies, especially renewable energy sources. Accordingly, the focus area for the HTAES Group is to improve the tools used for measuring and evaluating renewable solar photovoltaic (PV) technologies. The PV project within the HTAES is involved in evaluating the performance of PV cells and modules after field exposure to the outdoor elements, or when the cells are aged in an accelerated laboratory setting within the Engineering Laboratory. Additionally, AEO develops tools to support decision making on building products and systems, including rooftop solar PV.

An Ultraviolet Fluorescence (UVF) system, including a high resolution camera with special UV flash and filters, would be used to evaluate the degradation and defects of already-installed photovoltaic modules. The camera will be used to understand the degradation modes and to detect defects before they propagate to degraded electrical performance. Further research would include utilizing this information along with other imaging techniques to build out Artificial Intelligence models for projecting long term performance and degradation of solar arrays based on UVF measurements.

HTAES and AEO will utilize the requested instrument for all the measurements described above. The data collected from these measurements will be directly used in computation of PV performance parameters and incorporated into decision support tools to improve decision making in solar installation, maintenance, and end of service life decisions. Hence, this instrument will be an important component of our measurement capabilities and eventual impact on the solar industry.

CONTRACTOR REQUIREMENTS:

*****See attached Specifications and Statement of Work*****

SECTION II – OFFER INSTRUCTIONS

a) Quotations must conform to solicitation provisions and be prepared in accordance with this section. To aid in evaluation, the quotation shall be clearly and concisely written as well as being neat, indexed (cross-indexed as appropriate) and logically assembled. All pages of each part shall be appropriately numbered and identified with the name of the offeror, the date, and the solicitation number.

b) Quotation are due later than 10 August 2023 11:00 EDT

c) Quotation shall indicate their GWAC contract number, company DUNS number and CAGE code.

d) Please limit the quotation to no more than five (5) pages.

e) All offerors shall provide documentation showing that they are authorized resellers of the product(s) they are proposing or are the Manufacturer.

f) All items must be quoted to be accepted for the award.

SECTION III – ARRANGMENT OF QUOTATION

Price – A firm- fixed-price for each CLIN.

Offeror's DUNS and TIN, and POC information: name, telephone no., e-mail address

• Offerors GWAC contract number;


• Completed FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications. Reps and certs must be uploaded to the System for Award Management at www.sam.gov

SECTION IV – BASIS OF AWARD

The Government will award a task order resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose quotation is technically acceptable, lowest price.

An offers failure to quote all of the part numbers listed above may be considered indicative of the offerors lack of understanding of the Government’s requirements and may result in the offer being determined unacceptable.

Price - The Government will evaluate the offeror's proposed prices to determine whether the proposed prices comply with the instructions articulated above and are realistic, complete, and reasonable in relation to the solicitation requirements. Proposed prices shall be entirely compatible with the technical quotation. For evaluation purposes, the Government will evaluate the total price for all CLINS.

The Government does not intend to enter discussion and may award a task order on the basis of initial offers received, without discussions. Therefore, each initial quotation shall contain the offeror’s best terms. Nonetheless, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if it is in the best interest of the Government.

SECTION V – TERMS AND CONDITIONS

The following provisions and clauses apply to this acquisition:

The following FAR provisions and clause(s) apply to this acquisition. Full text is available at (https://www.acquisition.gov/)

52.204-24, Representation Regarding Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment (Oct 2020)

52.204-25, Prohibition on Contracting for Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment. (Aug 2019)

52.204-26, Covered Telecommunications Equipment or Services-Representation (Dec 2019)

52.204-27, Prohibition on a ByteDance Covered Application

The following CAR provisions and clauses apply to this acquisition; full text is available at (https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2010/03/08/2010-4132/commerce-acquisition-regulation-car#h-372)

CAR 1352.201-70, Contracting Officer’s Authority;

CAR 1352.209-73, Compliance with the Laws;

CAR 1352.209-74, Organizational Conflict of Interest;

CAR 1352.215-72, Inquires;

CAR 1352.233-70, Agency Protests

(a) An agency protest may be filed with either: (1) The contracting officer, or (2) at a level above the contracting officer, with the appropriate agency Protest Decision Authority. See 64 FR 16,651 (April 6, 1999).

(b) Agency protests filed with the Contracting Officer shall be sent to the following address:

NIST/ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT DIVISION

ATTN: Robert Singman, CONTRACTING OFFICER

100 Bureau Drive, MS 1640

Gaithersburg, MD 20899

(c) Agency protests filed with the agency Protest Decision Authority shall be sent to the following address:

NIST/ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT DIVISION

ATTN: HEAD OF THE CONTRACTING OFFICE (HCO)

100 Bureau Drive, MS 1640

Gaithersburg, MD 20899

(d) A complete copy of all agency protests, including all attachments, shall be served upon the Contract Law Division of the Office of the General Counsel within one day of filing a protest with either the Contracting Officer or the Protest Decision Authority.

(e) Service upon the Contract Law Division shall be made as follows:

U.S. Department of Commerce

Office of the General Counsel

Chief, Contract Law Division

Room 5893

Herbert C. Hoover Building

14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW.

Washington, DC 20230

FAX: (202) 482-5858.

(End of clause)

NIST LOCAL-53 CONTRACT PERFORMANCE DURING CHANGES IN NIST OPERATING STATUS

Unless otherwise stated in the contract terms and conditions, normal days of business operation are Monday through Friday, excluding Federal Holidays. However, throughout the contract period of performance, there may be circumstances beyond the control of the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), that will impact normal days of business operation, such as inclement weather, power outages, etc. In circumstances such as these, the Contractor must call the appropriate NIST campus status line to verify the operating status:

Gaithersburg Campus Operating Status Line: (301) 975-8000 (800) 437-4385 x8000 (toll free)

Boulder Campus Operating Status Line: (303) 497-4000

During a lapse in appropriation, access to Government facilities and resources, including equipment and systems, will be limited to excepted personnel for both Federal employees and Contractor personnel. If performance of the contract is onsite and/or requires Government interaction, unless you have been, or are notified that you are to work under an excepted status, you will automatically enter a temporary work stoppage. The work stoppage shall remain in effect until the lapse is resolved and notification is provided via the NIST website at https://www.nist.gov/ and/or the NIST operating status lines. Additionally, Contractors are encouraged to monitor public broadcasts or the Office of Personnel Management’s website at www.opm.gov for the Federal Government operating status. NIST will provide notification to all contractors that are determined to have excepted status. All excepted contractors are required to continue performance and communicate with the appointed Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) for further guidance, or NIST Contracting Officer if a COR is not appointed. Contractors with supply or service contracts that are fully funded at the time of contract award and do not require access to Government facilities, resources, or active administration by Government personnel in a manner that would cause the government to incur additional obligations during the lapse in appropriation may continue performance.

(End of clause)

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