United States - A Study on Future Fleet and Energy Options for The East Coast of the United States

Description

View Changes Solicitation No. 693JF725R000001
Vessel Future Fleet and Energy Options for The East Coast of the United States
Amendment No. 2
The purpose for this amendment is to respond to the following questions.
Question-1.
Are the budget and budget justification to be included within the 12 pages?
Response-1.
Yes.
Question-2
Would a cover page or table of contents be included within the 12 pages?
Response-2.
Yes.
Question-3
There is no request for project team/key personnel resumes or CVs in the solicitation. Can we include resumes for key personnel within an appendix?
Response-3.
No.
Question-4
Will MARAD allow any other appendices to the proposal? For example, a letter of support for partners?
Response-4.
No.
Question-5
We have reviewed amendment 1 and understand that the proposal must be received within 45 days of the publication of the notice. However, on pg. 4/6, there is also the following language: The deadline for proposal submission is 12:00 PM EST on the closing date listed for this RFP on SAM.gov. SAM.gov still lists the Offerors Due Date as Dec 2, 2024 which appears to not be updated within the 45 days. Could you please confirm the proposal due date?
Response-5.
This language has been updated in the RFP that is attached.

Solicitation No. 693JF725R000001
 Vessel Future Fleet and Energy Options for The East Coast of the United States
 Amendment No. 1
The purpose for this amendment is to respond to the following question.
Question-1.
On page 4/6 of the RFP document the proposal deadline is somewhat unclear. Is it sixty days, as spelled out, or thirty days, as written in numerals?
D. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION
1. Address to Request Application Package. This RFP contains all the information needed to submit a proposal and be considered for award. No specific application form or other materials need to be obtained from MARAD.
2. Content and Form of Application.
• Proposals must provide sufficient, verifiable, and detailed information covering all elements of the “Required Study Content” described in section A.2 above.
• Proposals are limited to 12 pages and must be received within sixty (30) days of the publication of this notice.
Response-1.
The correct proposal deadline is forty-five (45) days.
The Proposals are limited to 12 pages and must be received withing forty-five (45) days of the publication of this notice.  

Maritime Administration:
A Study on Future Fleet and Energy Options for The East Coast of the United States
RFP No. 693JF725R000001
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP):
The Maritime Administration’s (MARAD) Maritime Environmental and Technical Assistance (META) program is issuing this request for proposals (RFP) for conducting a study on the future fleet and energy options for the East Coast of the United States.
The project must be completed within 15-month timeline.
Maximum funding available for this project is $350,000
A. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:
1) Background
Over the past several years, the META Program (46 U.S.C. § 50307) has partnered with government agencies, industry, and academia to investigate, test, and demonstrate the use of alternative fuels and technologies to reduce air emissions and improve energy efficiency from vessels, ports, and marine terminal operations. Following on those efforts, MARAD has begun to explore broader energy efficiency and decarbonization efforts within the maritime sector that could support multiple-use operations at the vessel/terminal nexus. This RFP builds on previous studies that investigated the future energy options of the Great Lakes shipping industry, California’s commercial harbor craft industry as well as offshore supply vessels in the Gulf of Mexico and towing vessels on the Lower Mississippi River.
The study is intended to support vessel operators that will be considering alternative energy solutions for their existing or future fleet, technology developers supporting the fleets’ energy transition, and policymakers to better support the industry. This East Coast-focused study will follow the model of previous studies by profiling landside and vessel attributes. Unlike past studies, this work will take the profiles a step further to examine how the fleet and its activities have changed over the past decade, what factors contributed to those changes, and how those changes may help to better identify energy and infrastructure needs for a future fleet.
2) Requested Study Content:
The East Coast is a diverse environment for shipping. Freight activities are mixed with recreational and fishing vessels and ferries, often sharing hubs and resources. U.S. commercial fleet activities have evolved in this context over the past decade, responding to national crises and changing economic conditions. The commercial fleet and its activity will continue to change with fluctuating economic conditions but will also change substantially with the need to adapt to new energy types that are often higher-cost and have lower energy densities.
2 / 6
This study continues in the spirit of previous “future energy” studies in other regions that focus on a snapshot of specific fleet activities and examine these activities for a more diverse fleet over a period of time. This approach examines past changes in fleet and activity patterns to understand major influencing factors and project how the fleet and the ports they serve could be affected by cost and availability of low carbon energy in coming decades.
• Vessels and Port Profiles:
o Profile the current fleet of US Flag and commercially registered cargo vessels operating on the US East Coast, breaking down by both vessel type and functional categories derived from both stated use and activity patterns.
o Profile ports on the US East Coast focusing on ports that serve domestic commercial vessels. Examine current and past throughput of cargo volumes, connection to landside freight modes, and potential for serving as a low carbon energy hub. Connect the type and volume of energy needed at the port to the vessels that serve it and their activity, noting which energy types in the current known landscape (known from other future fuels studies) would best fit the need, how prepared those ports are in general (A-E or similar rating), what plans the ports have already announced (including potential participation in “Green Corridors.” and how the evolving fleet profile over coming decades may affect those projections.
o Profile East Coast domestic commercial vessel activity over the last 10 years. This should primarily be a profile based on vessel and freight activity patterns and include an examination of these patterns over time that highlights seasonal variations and other important patterns or anomalies. This analysis should, to the extent possible with available data, draw on any relevant activity-based data such as regional AIS, port call data, and commodity flow data for vessels of all sizes engaged in commercial goods movement.
• Forecasting for Future Energy Needs:
o Draw on the findings of the above analyses to create a theoretical profile of the activities and energy needs of the future cargo fleet on the East Coast in 10 years and 20 years. This analysis should consider past activities, prior studies, emerging policies and incentives around energy [e.g. H2 hubs, MARAD “Future Fuels” studies, IMO regulations for large ships, offshore wind support vessels, etc.], and future growth projections. Create projections based on high and low estimates of key variables (economic growth, carbon price, etc.)
o Using the specific results of the above forecast, describe the major economic, political, and regulatory barriers to initial and widespread adoption of future energy to describe a range of potential solutions and pathways to overcoming the potential barriers.
Proposals may include:
• Additional considerations, outreach, or analysis tasks recommended to achieve the goals of the study.
3 / 6
B. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION:
MARAD will provide funding through a cooperative agreement for the execution of the feasibility study. Collaborative partnerships with other entities such as industry, ports/terminals, maritime organizations, and state or local governments are highly encouraged. This announcement is an expression of interest only and does not commit MARAD to make any award.
To be considered for selection, the study must be able to be completed within 15 months from the time of award. The final report will be publicly available and posted to the META webpage.
MARAD reserves the right to fund some or none of the proposals received under this RFP. MARAD provides no funding for reimbursement of proposal development costs. Technical and cost proposals (or any other material) submitted in response to this RFP will not be returned. It is the policy of MARAD to treat all proposals submitted under this RFP as sensitive competitive information and to disclose their contents only for the purposes of evaluation. All applicants must be registered and current with SAM.gov at the time of award.
C. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION.
1. Eligible Applicants: The following entities are designated as “eligible entities” under 46 U.S.C. § 50307(d) and are eligible to apply:
(1) Private entities, including nonprofit organizations;
(2) State, regional, or local governments or entities, including special districts;
(3) Indian Tribes (as defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. § 5304)) or a consortium of Indian Tribes;
(4) Institutions of higher education as defined under section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. § 1002); or
(5) A partnership or collaboration of entities described in paragraphs (1) through (4) above.
2. MARAD is seeking to provide full funding through cooperative agreement(s) for the proposal that provides sufficient, verifiable, and detailed data on how to reach the objective of this feasibility study. MARAD will fund 100% of the total cost of the project. Proposals must include a detailed cost breakdown that shows how Federal funds will be used for the project. Please see Section D.2 for information on proposal format requirements.
3. Systems for Award Management (SAM) Requirements. MARAD will not make an award to an applicant until the applicant has complied with all applicable unique entity identifier and SAM requirements. If an applicant has not fully complied with the requirements by the time MARAD is ready to make an award, MARAD may determine that the applicant is not qualified to receive an award and use that determination as a basis for making an award to another applicant. Please see Section D.3 for information on SAM requirements. MARAD will not make an award to any applicant with an exclusion in SAM.
4 / 6
D. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION
1. Address to Request Application Package. This RFP contains all the information needed to submit a proposal and be considered for award. No specific application form or other materials need to be obtained from MARAD.
2. Content and Form of Application.
• Proposals must provide sufficient, verifiable, and detailed information covering all elements of the “Required Study Content” described in section A.2 above.
• Proposals are limited to 12 pages and must be received within sixty (30) days of the publication of this notice.
3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM).
Each applicant is required to: (a) be registered and current in SAM before submitting its application; (b) provide a valid unique entity identifier in its applicant; and (c) continue to maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during which it has an active Federal award or an application or plan under consideration by a Federal awarding agency. MARAD will not make an award to an applicant until the applicant has complied with all applicable unique entity identifier and SAM requirements and if an applicant has not fully complied with the requirements by the time MARAD is ready to make an award, MARAD may determine that the applicant is not qualified to receive an award and use that determination as a basis for making an award to another applicant.
4. Submission Dates and Times.
The deadline for proposal submission is 12:00 PM EST on the closing date listed for this RFP on SAM.gov Please submit proposals in PDF format attached to an email. Send proposals to Christian Onwudiegwu/Contract Specialist at Christian.onwudiegwu@dot.gov and Kelly Mitchell-Carroll at k.mitchell-carroll@dot.gov. Do not send paper copies, or other media of the proposal via post office or delivery service. Proposals received by MARAD after the deadline will not be considered for award. An email will be deemed “received” by MARAD on the date and time the email was “sent” to the email address in Section D.7, below, as determined by MARAD’s servers.
5. Intergovernmental Review.
This funding opportunity is not subject to Executive Order 12372, “Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.”
6. Funding Restrictions.
Applicants are advised to review 2 C.F.R. Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards as supplemented by 2 C.F.R. Part 1201 for cost principles used to determine allowable costs of work performed under Federal awards.
5 / 6
7. Other Submission Requirements.
Proposals must be submitted by the deadline set forth in Section D.4 above by electronic mail to Christian Onwudiegwu at Christian.onwudiegwu@dot.gov and Kelly Mitchell-Carroll at k.mitchell-carroll@dot.gov. Please include the Funding Opportunity Number and Title in the Subject Line.
E. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION
1. Review and Selection Process.
MARAD will set-up an internal review team to evaluate all proposals that are submitted under this announcement. All eligible proposals will be evaluated within four (4) weeks after the closing date. If the review team has any questions on an individual proposal, it will notify the applicant for clarification.
The proposals shall contain responses to and will be evaluated against the following criteria:
1) The total reimbursable cost proposed for the project, including a detailed, appropriate, and defensible budget for each component of the project, and description of any other value-added components, resources, or co-funding.
2) The applicant’s understanding of the overall project, its individual components, and the value to U.S. commercial maritime industry.
3) The applicant organization’s technical capabilities and resources relevant to the project, including related experience, techniques, or unique combinations of these that are integral factors for achieving the study objectives. This will include consideration of the experience and capability of key personnel involved, the number of hours budgeted for key persons, and the role, value, and level of participation of any partners.
4) Well documented and context-appropriate methodology to undertake and successfully complete each of the study components in a timely manner. Methodologies must include descriptions of major analytical approaches being proposed for the study components, including those for evaluating current and future economic conditions. Methodology also includes any specific models and data sources intended to be used for each component of the project.
5) Based on past work and descriptions in the proposal, the applicant’s ability to deliver a product that is:
a. Sufficiently detailed to fully describe the information in each task
b. Well synthesized, so information and analysis from each tasks informs other tasks and contributes to a well-organized overall study
c. Applicable to the indicated subject (the U.S. Commercial Maritime Fleet)
d. Easily useable and accessible by, and relevant to the intended audiences (U.S. industry and policy makers.)
6 / 6
F. FEDERAL AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION
1. Federal Award Notices.
The successful applicant(s) will be notified by MARAD’s Office of Acquisition via telephone; however, the telephone call is not the actual award or the authorization to begin performance. All awards will be made by a cooperative agreement signed by MARAD’s Agreement/Grants Officer. After an award, has been made a MARAD representative from the Office of Environment and Innovation will notify the awardee to set-up a kick-off meeting for the project.
Unsuccessful applicants will be notified via email.
2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements.
Applicants are advised to review 2. C.F.R. Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Costs Principles and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards as supplemented by 2 C.F.R. Part 1201, for applicable administrative and national policy requirements. For a copy of the general terms and conditions of the Federal award made under this RFP, please contact Christian Onwudiegwu at Christian.onwudiegwu@dot.gov. Federal awards made under RFP may include additional terms that are specific to the project, including without limitation awardee information, project description, funding details and appropriate data rights clauses.
3. Reporting.
Applicants are advised to review 2 C.F.R. Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Costs Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, as supplemented by 2 C.F.R. Part 1201, for applicable reporting requirements. Federal awards made under this RFP may include additional reporting requirements that are appropriate for the specific project to be funded by MARAD.
G. FEDERAL AWARDING AGENCY CONTACT
For any questions relating to the technical or programmatic aspects of this RFP, please contact Galen Hon, at Galen.Hon@dot.gov.
For any questions about the administration of this funding opportunity and any awards, please contact Christian Onwudiegwu at Christian.onwudiegwu@dot.gov.
H. OTHER INFORMATION
Applicants must identify all proprietary information in its submission. MARAD is not obligated to make any Federal award as a result of this RFP. Final funding is subject to the availability of funds in FY 2024-25.

Opportunity closing date

02 December 2024

Value of contract

to be confirmed