SLED Opportunity · FLORIDA · ALACHUA COUNTY
AI Summary
Alachua County seeks qualified vendors for design and installation of a 54 kW grid-connected solar PV system on the Growth Management Building rooftop. The project includes design, permitting, installation, and interconnection, funded by the Lydia B. Stokes Grant.
Alachua County is soliciting qualified solar vendors with demonstrated experience in the design and installation of grid connected solar photovoltaic systems for Alachua County Growth Management Building. This project is part of Alachua County's effort of the implementation of additional solar projects across County facilities, including rooftop systems, covered parking installations, and ground mounted arrays where feasible.
This project will be located at the County Support Building, 915 SE 5th Street, Gainesville, Florida. The proposed system consists of a 54 kilowatt solar PV array to be installed on approximately 3,600 square feet of existing south facing rooftop area. The system will be interconnected with the local utility grid and integrated into the building’s electrical infrastructure.
The selected vendor will be responsible for all aspects of system design, permitting, coordination with the utility provider, installation, testing, commissioning, and final interconnection. The County’s intent is to procure a complete, code compliant, and fully operational solar PV system that supports long term energy efficiency and sustainability goals.
This project is being funded by the Lydia B. Stokes Grant awarded to Alachua County.
Location: Alachua County is located in North Central Florida. The County government seat is situated in Gainesville. Gainesville is located 70 miles southwest of Jacksonville, 129 miles southeast of Tallahassee, 140 miles northeast of Tampa - St. Petersburg and 109 miles northwest of Orlando. Alachua County has a population of over 250,000 and a regional airport. The County itself consists of a total area of 969 square miles.
Form of Government: Alachua County is governed by a Board of five (5) elected County Commissioners and operates under the established County Manager Charter form of government. In addition to the five County Commissioners, there are five elected Constitutional Officers: Supervisor of Elections, Sheriff, Clerk of the Court, Tax Collector, and the Property Appraiser. The Alachua County Attorney also reports to the Board.
Please use the See What Changed link to view all the changes made by this addendum.
Mandatory Pre-Bid Attendance Sheet
This addendum updates Bonding Requirements.
Please use the See What Changed link to view all the changes made by this addendum.
See attached
This addendum extends bid opening to April 15, 2026 at 2pm.
Please use the See What Changed link to view all the changes made by this addendum.
Based on questions above, award points as follows:
Based on questions above, award points as follows:
Based on questions above, award points as follows:
Based on questions above, award points as follows:
Based on questions above, award points as follows:
Points Provided by Procurement.
Points Provided by Procurement.
Points Provided by Procurement.
The response must be submitted by an officer of the business who is legally authorized to enter into a contractual relationship in the name of the Proposer. An authorized representative who is not an officer may submit the bid on behalf of the Proposer.
Proposer may use the County's template provided or an approved corporate resolution form from their agency.
Complete the Corporate Resolution form and upload.
Confirm that you attend the Mandatory Pre-Bid meeting, and that you signed the Sign-in Sheet matching your submitting vendor name?
All corporations, LLCs, limited and general partnerships, LLPs and LLLPs wishing to do business within the County must register and be active with the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations at the following web site: http://www.sunbiz.org/
Failure to register and be active with the Florida Department of State may result in the bid being determined as non-responsive.
Upload your registered documents below.
Upload your W-9 form.
As a proposer, any document you submit to Alachua County may be a public record and be open for personal inspection or copying by any person. In Florida ‘public records” are defined as all documents, papers, letters, maps, books, tapes, photographs, films, sound recordings, data processing software, or other material, regardless of the physical form, characteristics, or means of transmission, made or received pursuant to law or ordinance or in connection with the transaction of official business by any agency. Section 119.011, F.S. A document is subject to personal inspection and copying unless it falls under one of the public records exemptions created under Florida law.
Answer NO if:
NO PART OF YOUR SUBMISSION IS EXEMPTION FROM FLORIDA PUBLIC RECORDS LAW
No part of the proposal submitted is exempt from disclosure under the Florida public records law, Ch. 119, F.S.
Answer Yes if:
ALL OR PART OF YOUR SUBMISSION IS CLAIMED BY YOU TO BE EXEMPT FROM FLORIDA PUBLIC RECORDS LAW AND YOU AGREEMENT TO INDEMNIFY AND DEFEND ALACHUA COUNTY
The following parts of the proposal submitted are exempt from disclosure under the Florida public records law because: (list exempt parts and legal justification - e.g., trade secret): ___________________________
By claiming that all or part of the proposal is exempt from the Florida public records law, the undersigned proposer agrees to protect, defend, indemnify and hold the County, its officers, employees and agents free and harmless from and against any and all claims arising out of a request to inspector copy the proposal. The undersigned proposer agrees to investigate, handle, respond to, provide defense (including payment of attorney fees, court costs, and expert witness fees and expenses up to and including any appeal) for and defend any such claim at its sole cost and expense through counsel chosen by the County and agrees to bear all other costs and expenses related thereto, even if they (claims, etc.) are groundless, false, or fraudulent.
I CLAIM THAT THAT THE FOLLOWING PARTS OF MY PROPOSAL ARE EXEMPT FROM FLORIDA PUBLIC RECORDS LAW AND AGREE TO INDEMNIFY AND DEFEND ALACHUA COUNTY
The following parts of the proposal submitted are exempt from disclosure under the Florida public records law because: (list exempt parts and legal justification - e.g., trade secret): ___________________________
Please designate what portion of your proposal, if any, qualifies to be exempt from inspection and copying.
By claiming that all or part of the proposal is exempt from the public records law, the undersigned proposer agrees to protect, defend, indemnify and hold the County, its officers, employees and agents free and harmless from and against any and all claims arising out of a request to inspector copy the proposal. The undersigned proposer agrees to investigate, handle, respond to, provide defense (including payment of attorney fees, court costs, and expert witness fees and expenses up to and including any appeal) for and defend any such claim at its sole cost and expense through counsel chosen by the County and agrees to bear all other costs and expenses related thereto, even if they (claims, etc.) are groundless, false, or fraudulent.
Upload your complete submittal with non-redacted information in a single pdf file.
If you select "Yes", answer No on SBE Options 2, 3, and mark N/A on SBE Option 4.
If you select "No" move to SBE Option 2.
Upload your Alachua County SBE Certificate.
If you select "Yes", answer No on SBE Options 1, 3, 4 and mark as N/A on SBE Option 4.
If you select "No" move to SBE Option 3.
Upload your Sub-Contractor(s) Alachua County SBE Certificate. If you are using more than one, combine and upload as a single pdf. file.
If you select "Yes", answer "No" on SBE Options 1, 2, and mark as N/A on SBE Option 4.
If you select "No" move to SBE Option 4.
If you selected "NO" on SBE Options 1, 2, and 3 complete SBE Option 4.
Proposer will not receive points if all work is to be performed by the Consultant and subcontractors are Non-Small Business Enterprise vendors. The consultant should complete Option 4 to demonstrate a good faith effort to utilize SBE subcontractors.
In accordance with the Alachua County Procurement Code, I have solicited and received responses from the following Alachua County certified SBE companies. (The SBE vendor’s response should be entered in the section below.)
Name of SBE Vendor Contacted: _________________
Date SBE was Contacted: _______________________
SBE Contact Name:____________________________
Phone #:_____________________________________
SBE Response when contacted: __________________
Select which option that apply:
Do you meet the Alachua County Location Preference, found in Instruction to Proposers?
Provide your local address in Alachua County.
In accordance with §287.087, Florida Statutes
Do you certify that you meet the following:
1. Publish a statement notifying employees that the unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensing, possession or use of a controlled substance is prohibited in the workplace and specifying the actions that will be taken against employees for violations of such prohibition.
2. Inform employees about the dangers of drug abuse in the workplace, the business's policy of maintaining a drug-free workplace, any available drug counseling, rehabilitation, and employee assistance programs, and the penalties that may be imposed upon employees for drug abuse violations.
3. Give each employee engaged in providing the commodities or contractual services that are under proposal a copy of the statement specified in subsection (1).
4. In the statement specified in subsection (1), notify the employees that, as a condition of working on the commodities or contractual services that are under this proposal, the employee will abide by the terms of the statement and will notify the employer of any conviction of, or plea of guilty or nolo contendere to, any violation of Chapter 1893 or of any controlled substance law of the United States or any state, for a violation occurring in the workplace no later than five (5) days after such conviction.
5. Impose a sanction on, or require the satisfactory participation in a drug abuse assistance or rehabilitation program if such is available in the employee's community, by any employee who is so convicted.
6. Make a good faith effort to continue to maintain a drug-free workplace through implementation of this section.
As the person authorized to sign the statement, I certify that this firm complies fully with the above requirements.
Confirm that the submitting proposer has not been placed on any of the list's below:
Convicted Vendor List
Suspended Vendor List
Discriminatory Vendor List
Scrutinized List of Prohibited Companies
Federal Excluded Parties List
List all subcontractor's being utilized on this RFP, (NON-SBE) If no sub contractor are being utilized respond N/A
Name of Sub-Contractor: ______________________
Address:_______________________________
Scope of Work to be Performed: ____________
Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.
The Consultant shall designate a responsible agent and alternate as necessary, for all dealings, communications, or notices or contracts between the County and the Consultant by completing and returning this Responsible Agent Form. Any notice or communication to or from the responsible agent shall be deemed to be a communication to the Consultant.
RESPONSIBLE AGENT:
1. Include name, email, phone number
ALTERNATE RESPONSIBLE AGENT:
2. Include name, email, phone number
The proposer certifies that to the best of its/his/her knowledge or belief, no elected/appointed official or employee of the County is financially interested, directly or indirectly, in the purchase of the goods or services specified on this proposal. (Select yes, if there is no conflict of interest)
Upload your Request for Proposal documentation, in PDF format, with all required information and applicable documents in this section for review.
If you claimed exemption from Public Records, upload your redacted proposal here.
Did you review and complete all the required documents, attachments, addenda and questions and answers?
Does this project involve any software requirements, whether it's cloud-based or local?
Does the RFP need to be publicly advertised in the Local Newspaper?
Which Insurance will you need for this RFP?
Do you require Bid Bonds for this Solicitation?
Example: two (2)
Example: two (2)
Please choose the following:
Option 1: Covers Annual / One Time Project (Includes Local Preferences)
Option 2: Covers A&E CCNA and No Local/SBE/GMW (Excludes Local Preferences )
Option 3: No Technical Scoring required
What type of Contract will this solicitation result in?
Do you need to include reuse of existing plans?
Does this solicitation require an oral presentation?
Q (bid bond): just wanted to make sure as i do not see anything about the requirement of a bid bond, is one required?
A: Please see addendum #2.
Q (No subject):
A: I will be attending the pre-solicitation meeting for the solar RFP on Friday at 9AM. Is there any type of pre-registration or anything else I would need to have prior to the meeting? There is no pre-registration for this meeting. A sign-in sheet will be available for vendors to sign-in.
Q (Questions from Pre-solicitation meeting): I would like to have the following information as we prepare our bid: 1) Copy of 12 months of utility bills. 2) Copy of the building's electrical drawings. 3. Verification of the size of the 3 electric service disconnect switches. We were not permitted to open these up and the Amp rating was not visible from the outside.
A: 1) We will provide 12 months of utility data for the facility to support system sizing and analysis. Certain billing details may be redacted as appropriate. Electrical Drawings 2) Electrical drawings are unavailable. 3) Service Disconnect Ratings: Verification of electrical service equipment, including disconnect switch ratings, shall be the responsibility of the proposer. Access to equipment for detailed inspection can be coordinated if required. Proposers are expected to perform their own due diligence and field verification as part of their bid.
Q (No subject): Is the maximum budget for this project $110,000.00 as stated in the Grant Agreement?
A: According to Paragraph 3: Grant Funding, there is $10,000 to be used for Community Investment Fund and $100,000 for the installation of solar panels. The County has an additional $20,000 for solar panels.
Q (No subject): Are we offsetting multiple meters that serve this building?
A: The facility is served by two electric meters. At this time, the intent is for the proposed solar system to offset both of these meters. Proposers should account for this condition in their system design and clearly indicate how the system will be configured relative to the existing metering arrangement, including any assumptions regarding meter aggregation or utility requirements. If proposing to offset multiple meters, please identify the approach and any coordination required with the utility. Please reach out with any additional questions.
Q (No subject): With the two overhead services on site, one has no outdoor readily accessible disconnect. Will the awarded contractor be required to install a readily accessible service disconnect?
A: yes, if required for system functionality or to satisfy the AHJ (CODE Requirements)
Q (Question as we prepare bid.): On 3/13, I submitted a question regarding how to get a copy of the building's electrical bills which are required to do an accurate proforma as well as the service size of the two overhead services which are fed by the single meter. The response to my (and others) question is that question is acknowledged. Since questions are due in 4 days, does that mean we will get answers at that time or is there another way to get this information. Thanks.
A: See Official Notice #2: GRU Utility Bills
Q (No subject): With the 3-foot setback along the perimeter as stated in the technical requirements, you cannot fit the full 54kW on the south facing slope as there will be additional setbacks at the top of the array. Can we also utilize the North facing? Or if awarded, can we show our engineered setbacks.
A: The proposed 54 kW system size is an approximate target based on the available roof area identified in the solicitation. Proposers shall design their systems in accordance with all stated project requirements, including the required 3 foot clear walking access around the roof perimeter, required access to roof mounted equipment, applicable code requirements, and the proposer’s engineered layout. Proposers may utilize the north facing roof area if necessary to provide the most effective and code compliant system design. Final array layout, setbacks, and attachment details shall be based on the awarded proposer’s engineered design and will be subject to County review and approval.
Q (No subject): I see a previous question and answer that I would like clarification on. Someone asked if this solar system is to offset multiple meters. The response was that the facility is served by 2 electric meters. On the walk through, I observed that there is a single pole mounted meter 2 poles to the north of the building. Unless I am missing something, I didn't see a second meter on this building. It appears that the power splits on the top of the pole to the north of the building and comes into the building from there. If there is a 2nd meter, that would show up on the Utility bill for this service address. It was mentioned that Alachua County would like a detailed proforma within the proposal. We will need 12 months of utility bills to correctly model this. How do we get copies of the bills? If there is a 2nd meter, this would show on the electric bills. Please advise.
A: The County confirms that this facility is served by a single electric meter, meter number 28296033. To assist proposers with system modeling and development of the required proforma, the County will issue an addendum that includes the last twelve months of utility billing for this meter.
Q (On Site Visit ): Would it be possible to visit on site again to take electrical measurements on both panels inside?
A: No.
Q (Question as we prepare bid.): How do we get copies of the electric bills showing meter numbers and usage data?
A: See Official Notice #2: GRU Utility Bills
SLED stands for State, Local, and Education. These are solicitations issued by state governments, counties, cities, school districts, utilities, and higher education institutions — as opposed to federal agencies.
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