Advance Notice - National Renewable Energy Certificates

Trade Agreement: NONE
Tendering Procedures: All interested suppliers may submit a bid
Competitive Procurement Strategy: Lowest/Lower Bid
Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement: No
Nature of Requirements: 

Advance Notice - National Renewable Energy Certificates

EP959-211948/B
Guilford, Alison
Telephone No. - (204) 228-7215 


1.0  NOTICE OF PROCUREMENT 

On January 7, 2021, Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC), on behalf of the Government of Canada, issued two (2) tenders for National Renewable Energy Certificates (EP949-211948/A and EP959-211993/A). The requirement was for solar or wind generator(s) to provide Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) of up to 128,000 MWh per year for a term of twenty (20) years from net new infrastructure. 

PWGSC set-aside a portion of this overall requirement (5 percent of the total, or 6,400 MWh) under the federal Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business (PSIB). This set-aside is described within the Request for Proposals (RFP) for solicitation number EP959-211993/A. 

PWGSC undertook these procurement processes in order to achieve a number of goals, including addressing clean electricity usage commitments made by the Government of Canada and supporting growth within the renewable electricity sector. PWGSC issued an Request for Information (RFI) in April of 2020, seeking industry feedback on its proposed renewable electricity procurements, and followed this with the issuance of two tenders for the supply of RECs on January 7, 2021.The solicitation period closed on February 24, 2021 with a limited number of bids received. 

This Notice of Procurement is to inform bidders that the previous bid solicitations have been cancelled and that a revised strategy for National Renewable Energy Certificates is currently being worked on by PWGSC. PWGSC anticipates a new tender will be published in January 2022.

Bidders are encouraged to review the previous solicitation documents to get a better understanding of PWGSC requirements. The following elements are anticipated to be incorporated into the future tender for Renewable Energy Certificates: 

• A solicitation period of a minimum of 3 months.

• A requirement for the supply of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) of a minimum of 128,000 MWh per year. 

• A requirement to include a minimum of twenty-five percent (25%) of the Economic Interest being held by one or more Qualifying Indigenous Communities or Qualifying Indigenous Entities.

• A requirement with 5% of the total volume will be set aside under PSIB for Indigenous businesses. 

• A requirement that all RECs must be supplied from net new solar or wind generation projects. 

• A contract will be in place for 20 years from date of commercial operation, which must begin no later than December 31, 2025.

• Removal of the requirement for bid financial security

2.0  NATURE OF THE NOTICE OF PROCUREMENT 

This Notice of Proposed Procurement (NPP) is being issued to provide advance notice to industry of the proposed procurement, with the aim of allowing bidders to begin preparations for the subsequent Request for Proposals (RFP).

Indigenous participation will be a key component of the RFP, and potential bidders are encouraged to begin consulting with Indigenous entities in order to address the Indigenous participation requirements that will be included in the RFP.

Nothing in this Notice of Proposed Procurement shall be construed as a commitment from PWGSC. PWGSC may use any non-proprietary information obtained as part of this review in the preparation of future requirements

3.0 PROCUREMENT OF CLEAN ELECTRICITY IN ALBERTA

Public Works and Government Services Canada is undertaking a separate procurement process for the services of an electricity retail services provider for the supply and distribution of approximately 255,000 MWh/year of clean electricity (solar and/or wind) to federal government facilities located within the province of Alberta. The retail services provider will also be responsible for providing billing and settlement services. These services are required beginning on January 1, 2023.

To learn more about this opportunity, visit https://buyandsell.gc.ca/, and enter solicitation number ‘EW038-210082’ in the search bar. This search will bring up the associated solicitation.

The RFP for this requirement is anticipated to be posted in January 2022. 

4.0  ESTIMATED SCHEDULE 

PWGSC proposes the following schedule:  

RFP Solicitation posting: January, 2022
RFP Solicitation period:  3 months, with possibility of extension
Contract Award: Summer to Autumn 2022 
Commercial Operation Date: No later than December 31, 2025 

5.0  ENQUIRIES 

Interested parties may submit enquiries, in writing, to the Procurement Authority. 

Procurement Authority: 

Alison Guilford
Procurement Specialist
Public Works and Government Services Canada
Procurement Branch | Western Region
Telephone: 204-228-7215
E-mail address: alison.guilford@pwgsc-tpsgc.gc.ca

When submitting enquiries, interested parties are asked to include the title “Notice of Procurement - Renewable Electricity Procurement” in the subject line of their email.

5.1  DEADLINE FOR ENQUIRES 

The deadline for enquires in regard to this NPP is: 2021-12-13

Enquiries must be submitted electronically and to the PWGSC representative identified above. 

Questions included in enquiries received after the deadline may not be answered; however PWGSC reserves the right to review and respond to questions received after this deadline if PWGSC determines that the question and/or its response may be of significant value to the RFP process.
Delivery Date: Above-mentioned

The Crown retains the right to negotiate with suppliers on any procurement.

Documents may be submitted in either official language of Canada.