SPECIAL NOTICE
B -- Intent to award sole source
- Notice Date
- 7/10/2018
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 541620
— Environmental Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- USGS OAG SACRAMENTO ACQUISITION BR. MODOC HALL, CSUS 3020 STATE UNIVERSITY DRIVE EAST SACRAMENTO CA 95819-6027 US
- ZIP Code
- 00000
- Solicitation Number
- 140G0318Q0117
- Point of Contact
- Riccomini, Joseph
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Sole source award Previous sources sought under 140G0318Q0104 THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR QUOTE. THIS IS A NOTICE OF THE GOVERNMENT'S INTENT TO ISSUE A SOLE SOURCE AWARD to Western Ecosystems Technology, Inc (WEST). The project will assess the impacts to birds of industrial-scale solar energy in southern California by documenting birds' use of these areas and any associated mortality. Successful completion of the project requires both new data collection and access to and analysis of existing data on avian-solar impacts. This work requires conducting systematic bird use and mortality searches on solar facility property and in associated reference areas outside the facilities. Analysis of these data must control for various forms of searcher bias. Also, new and existing avian mortality and natural history data from multiple solar facilities must be combined into a meta-analysis to determine what characteristics of solar facilities and species natural histories explain variation in mortality exhibited across solar sites at a regional scale. The project calls for new data collection on avian presence and mortality at select solar facilities in southern California. Careful and systematic approaches are required to gather these data in a manner that is both representative of areas being surveyed and limits or accounts for potential sources of bias ·. Accomplishing this requires an understanding of study design considerations that apply specifically to data collection within solar facilities, the ability to identify and properly allocate resources to matched reference sites (i.e., controls), the ability to account for other forms of bias such as bird carcass removal by scavengers, and the statistical proficiency to analyze resulting datasets. WEST expertise for work with the wind and solar energy industries in assessing avian impacts of alternative energy is well established and spans hundreds of projects over many years. They are leaders in developing statistical methods for coping with bias in avian mortality searcher datasets and retain considerable expertise in meta data analysis relevant to those required for assessing regional-scale factors influencing mortality at solar facilities. Unlike many consulting companies, much of WESTs research is published in the primary literature and therefore is exposed to the rigors of peer review. Indeed, study design considerations encountered during the conception of this project were partially informed by published work in various refereed journals by this entity. This project will gather field data to assess avian-solar impacts locally at specific solar facilities, but addressing regional scale contextual questions concerning avian mortality requires access to already existing datasets. WEST has or is currently conducting post construction monitoring for avian-solar impacts at most of the solar facilities identified as study sites for this project including Blythe, McCoy, Desert Sunlight, Genesis, and others. WEST retains exclusive intellectual access to the largest database of avian fatality data gathered at solar facilities, and such data are critical for understanding the regional factors that drive avian mortality across solar facilities in southern California. Over the years, the cumulative effort of WESTs field campaigns to date could not (and should not) be replicated, so in effect, access to these data would represents a substantial cost savings to the project as matching support in the form of monitoring costs (i.e., labor), equipment, and shared data. WEST also maintains facility access relationships with the solar industry that will facilitate the USGS team obtaining access to project sites as needed. Finally, WEST uses consistent data collection protocols across their project work. Using the same protocols for new data collection that are consistent with existing data ensures consistency of datasets that otherwise would not be possible if the project were forced to mix datasets from different sources. This consistency across datasets reduces 'noise' in any resulting analysis that would otherwise reduce our sensitivity for detecting the potential impacts to birds the projects seeks to explore. This data is proprietary to WEST. The associated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code is 541620 Consulting Services, which has a size standard of $15 million. The statutory authority for this non-competitive action is Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-1, Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements per 10 U.S.C 2304(c)(1). This is a sole source notice published for informational purposes only and not a request for competitive quotes. Therefore, no solicitation document exists for this requirement. However, all responsible parties interested in responding to this notice are invited to submit a capability statement by the time and date specified in this notice that provides sufficient details for consideration by the Government, via email to: jriccomini@usgs.gov, by 1200 hrs, 13 Jul 2018. The determination not to compete the contract based on the responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Phone calls will not be accepted in response to this notice. All information submitted should support the offeror's capability to provide the items required, and shall be furnished at no cost or obligation to the Government. Responses must be in writing and must provide clear and concise documentation indicating an offeror's bona fide capability to provide these supplies/services. Verbal responses are not acceptable and will not be considered. The Government reserves the right to cancel this requirement.
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