Flexible Energy Technical Analysis

Description of goods to services to be bid:

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is issuing solicitation RFQL 5548 to establish a pool of consulting firms qualified to provide NYSERDA with diverse technical, energy, economic, and environmental analytical capacity, some of which may be requests for services on short notice (with exceptions, short notice is typically considered to be three to six months). NYSERDA’s mission includes the provision of research, analytic and modeling support on a range of topics, often with finite time horizons. Access to a pool of consultants with wide?ranging high-quality technical expertise established through this solicitation will augment and enhance NYSERDA’s expertise when undertaking individual, discrete projects with firm timelines. These retained resources will be made available to all NYSERDA Programs, providing technical expertise when such services are needed and appropriate.

RFQL 5548 has been revised, changes are as follows:

Revisions to RFQL 5548 include:

• The initial due date for proposals of October 6, 2023 was removed. All proposals are now due by December 31, 2026 by 3:00 PM Eastern Time.
• New Support Areas have been added:

O. Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use: Assistance may be requested for assessing carbon sequestration, storage, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at a landscape scale through field measurements, aggregating literature-based GHG emission/removal factors, analysis of Landsat and other satellite-based imaging metrics of land cover and land use, lidar, field measurements of GHG emissions and removals, surveys of landowners/renters and facility owners, and facility inventories. Proposers should be familiar with the tiered methods identified by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for creating national GHG inventories.?

P. Multi-sectoral Analysis and Research: Assistance may be requested in evaluating (1) cross-sectoral emissions reduction pathways, (2) cross-cutting policies and programs, (3) the interactive impacts of various decisions, and (4) other initiatives and topics that span multiple sectors or involve interactions between sectors. Sample work activities may include but are not limited to: (a) assessing the impact of varying levels of electrification on fuel use, fuel supply chains, and electricity demand across multiple sectors; and (b) assessing the balance between use of alternative fuels and electricity across multiple sectors, including impacts on demand, emissions generation, cost, reliability, and other factors. In their response, proposers are asked to explain the specific sectors in which they offer high levels of expertise.

Q. Environmental Market Analysis and Research: Assistance may be requested in analyzing and developing market-based environmental policies and initiatives. This assistance may encompass both (1) analyzing and developing individual market-based environmental policies and (2) considering the interaction of multiple such policies within and across sectors. Such policies could include but are not limited to cap and trade, clean transportation standards (also known as low carbon fuel standards or clean fuel standards), clean heat standards, and other market-based regulations designed to deliver on emissions reductions and/or advance alternative energy deployment in one or more sectors. Sample work activities may include but are not limited to: (a) developing emissions, cost, and price projections for such policies; (b) supporting air quality analysis associated with such policies; (c) assessing economic development and other impacts associated with such policies; and (d) providing specific recommendations for policy development. In their response, proposers are asked to explain any existing tools that they have relevant to this support area and/or their ability to develop such tools.

R. Energy Equity Policy Analysis and Research: Assistance may be requested in undertaking research into various policy topics from an energy equity and climate justice perspective that centers the lived experiences of New York’s historically marginalized communities, frontline communities, and low- and moderate-income households (or disadvantaged communities as identified by the criteria adopted by New York’s Climate Justice Working Group). Sample work activities may include but are not limited to: (a) evaluating energy vulnerability and energy burden; (b) assessing energy system impacts as they intersect with social determinants of health; (c) assessing energy system impacts as they interact with access to energy services, access to transportation and mobility, and access to economic development opportunities and jobs associated with an inclusive clean energy transition; and (d) characterizing relevant quantitative and qualitative household and community metrics, conditions, and perspectives under current and potential future scenarios in a spatially granular manner. Proposers in this support area may be requested to conduct research that incorporates substantial engagement with community-based organizations and representatives of disadvantaged communities. In their response, proposers are asked to explain and demonstrate their deep understanding of underlying root causes of inequitable historical patterns of investment and disinvestment, their technical expertise in characterizing (both qualitatively and quantitatively) the resulting sociodemographic stratification of energy system impacts, as relevant to a variety of metrics, effects, outcomes, and topics, and the expertise, training, and skills their proposed team offer with regard to facilitating meaningful engagement with community-based organizations and representatives of disadvantaged communities.

S. Building Sector Analysis: Assistance may be requested to evaluate across a broad range of building types (1) decarbonization potential, pathways, and options; (2) energy demand dynamics; (3) efficiency, affordability, reliability, and resilience considerations; (4) best practices, planning and strategic support focused on policies, regulations, programs and interventions supporting building decarbonization, (5) market insights/market context for retrofit and decarbonization technologies and markets relevant to the building sector in NY State. Sample work activities may include but are not limited to: (a) analyzing a broad range of decarbonization options / pathways relevant to different building types and typologies, such as energy efficiency, demand management, electrification, alternative fuel use/low carbon fuels, fuel cells, load flexibility/grid integration, thermal energy networks, and other; (b) developing, planning and supporting evaluation of implementation options for buildings-focused policies, regulations and initiatives, including but not limited to regulated and unregulated affordable housing, nonprofit-owned properties, and others targeting LMI communities; and (c) evaluating the impacts of buildings-focused interventions, including but not limited to impacts to energy systems, air quality and carbon emissions, consumer and wholesale costs, air pollution, and other. In their response, proposers are asked to explain their experience with decarbonization, energy transition and planning for the building sector.

T. Social Dimensions of Energy Systems and the Clean Energy Economy Analysis and Research: Assistance may be requested to undertake research into the social and institutional dimensions of an equitable, inclusive, and rapid energy transition across all sectors of New York’s energy system and clean energy economy. Proposers in this support area may be requested to use their expertise in energy-related social sciences and humanities fields to produce inter- and multi-disciplinary research and analysis that effectively maps relationships between energy systems and social systems. Sample work activities may include but are not limited to: socio-spatial and socio-demographic analysis, ethnographic research, participatory action research, and other forms of inquiry that situate energy systems topics and issues within the lived experiences of people and communities. Research may involve a variety of objectives, scales, and scopes, ranging from developing data and approaches to center household- and community-scale analysis and narratives within the context of macro energy systems modeling to conducting ethnographic or participatory action research at various field sites in collaboration with communities. Resulting analysis and research may leverage existing contributions from the fields of behavioral sciences, economics, energy systems analysis, and design to offer interdisciplinary breadth where appropriate. However, proposals that incorporate perspectives from diverse disciplines and conceptual frameworks in the social sciences and humanities, such as but not necessarily limited to sociotechnical systems, sociology/anthropology, political science, geography, and history, without overreliance on behavioral science and economic frames of inquiry are specifically and strongly encouraged. In their response, proposers are asked to explain the tools, approaches, methodologies, and disciplinary perspectives they utilize and demonstrate their experience conducting social and institutional research that is both rigorous and policy relevant.

If changes are made to this solicitation notification will be posted on NYSERDA’s website at:

www.nyserda.ny.gov/funding-opportunities 

Eligibility/Qualifications Requirements/Preferences:

As a result of this RFQL, NYSERDA expects to retain qualified contractors to provide services in each of the specified Support Areas outlined in Section II.B of this RFQL. The number and type of services requested from the selected contractors will depend on the nature and complexity of the project, the contractor's expertise, the volume and frequency of the services requested by NYSERDA, and contractors past performance. NYSERDA does not guarantee that all types of services will be requested or that all selected contractors will receive work pursuant to executed Task Work Order Agreements.

NYSERDA may select contractors that have demonstrated specialized capabilities in specific areas (e.g., exceptionally scarce qualifications or experience, specialized equipment, or facilities not readily available from other sources, or patents, copyrights, or proprietary data). Submitted proposals should articulate any specialized capabilities, supported by justification as to why these skills may be exceptionally scarce. NYSERDA reserves the right to make all decisions regarding a successful demonstration of a specialized capability.

Proposers are permitted, but not required, to team with partners (subcontractors) they consider would offer complementary expertise in the Support Areas identified in Section II.B.