Small business receives last contract for geothermal technology under MATOC

By U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center Public Affairs OfficeSeptember 17, 2013

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- (Sept. 17, 2013) The Army today awarded New Generation Power Inc. of Chicago, Ill., a geothermal technology, a Multiple Award Task Order Contract (MATOC) for renewable and alternative energy production for Department of Defense (DOD) installations.

This contract award adds New Generation Power Inc., a small business, to the pool of five other qualified contractors who will be eligible to bid on future individual geothermal technology project task orders. The second round of MATOC awards is in keeping with the original September 2012 Request For Proposal (RFP) which allowed for immediate awards to firms within the competitive range and additional awards to firms that qualified after further evaluation by the government. This completes the geothermal MATOC awards for now, although the government may choose to allow additional firms to qualify in the future.

The MATOC involves third-party financed renewable energy acquisitions and involves no Army capital or Military Construction appropriation. The Army only purchases the power from contractors who own, operate or maintain the generating assets. The MATOC's total estimated value of $7 billion refers to the total dollar value of energy available for purchase under all Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) task orders for their entire term (up to 30 years).

As renewable energy opportunities at Army installations are assessed and validated, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, will issue a competitive task order RFP to the pre-qualified MATOC companies for the specific technologies. Task orders will specify the type and amount of energy to be supplied to the Army installation or other federal user as well as other pertinent information for the developer to prepare a response that meets the government's requirements.

"Today we are expanding the pool of potential contractors for geothermal projects to include a small business," said Col. Robert Ruch, commander, U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville. "Including more potential contractors and small business allows us to further expand competition among qualified bidders and encourages the best value for renewable energy projects."