SPECIAL NOTICE
A -- University of California Davis Sustainable Transportation Energy Pathways Program"
- Notice Date
- 8/25/2009
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 541611
— Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Transportation, Office of the Secretary of Tranportation (OST) Procurement Operations, OST Acquisition Services Division, 1200 New Jersey Ave, Washington, District of Columbia, 20590
- ZIP Code
- 20590
- Solicitation Number
- DTOS59-09-R-00024
- Archive Date
- 12/31/2009
- Point of Contact
- James H Mowery III, Phone: 202-366-4959, James H Mowery III, Phone: 202-366-4959
- E-Mail Address
-
james.mowery@dot.gov, james.mowery@dot.gov
(james.mowery@dot.gov, james.mowery@dot.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- The U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovation Technology Administration (RITA), intends to award a firm fixed price contract, based on a sole source procurement, to The Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Davis (ITS-DAVIS) in accordance with FAR 6.302-1, which allows sole-source awards when there is only one responsible source and when no other type of services will satisfy agency requirements. The estimated value of the project is $60,000. The project’s Period of Performance is estimated to run from September 15, 2009 to March 15, 2010. Under this proposed sole source action, entitled “University of California Davis Sustainable Transportation Energy Pathways Program”, DOT intends to Purchase Studies, Reports and Modeling Analysis to be conducted under the Sustainable Transportation Energy Pathways (STEPS) Program, being performed by the University of California at Davis (UC Davis), Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS). Although it is believed that ITS-DAVIS is the only organization capable of performing this intended sole-source project at the very high level of quality indispensable to RITA, any interested organization (other than ITS-Davis) that believes that it is capable of performing this project must submit a Statement of Qualifications to DOT’s cognizant contracting officer, Mr. James Mowery, not later than 4:15 PM Eastern Time, September 11, 2009. The following is further background concerning this intended sole-source award: Statement of Work and Crux of Sole Source Justification Background: Sustainable Transportation Energy Pathways (STEPS), through a four-year research and outreach program will address the technical, operational, and logistical issues related to the transition to an alternative fuel-based economy. The goals of the STEPS program are to inform the public debate and to assist the public and private sponsors by providing tools and knowledge concerning sustainable transportation alternatives. The program will carefully analyze potential transitions in the transportation sector by addressing markets and consumer behavior, engineering and economics of vehicles and fuel infrastructure systems, societal and lifecycle environmental impacts (climate change, air quality, energy security), and public policy. The intent is to generate a strong understanding and solid foundation of knowledge for companies and Government agencies analyzing technology, investment and policy questions. The overarching objectives of the STEPS program are: to develop the theory, tools, and methods that allow for self-consistent and transparent comparisons of promising alternative energy and vehicle pathways; and to apply these tools and methods in comparative assessments of four general transportation energy pathways: hydrogen, biofuels, electricity and fossil fuels. ITS-Davis is uniquely positioned through its previous work with RITA on hydrogen issues through continuing research conducted under the Hydrogen Pathways Program, previously funded by RITA, to explore new areas such as hydrogen/electricity systems, regional transition case studies, well-to-tank energy and emissions modeling and enhancing key hydrogen pathways models for infrastructure development strategies. STEPS also is uniquely positioned through its partnership with organizations which include major energy companies, automotive companies, and Government agencies including RITA. The intended sole-source contractor, ITS-Davis, will draw upon research methods from a broad range of academic fields, including vehicle engineering and design, systems analysis and operations research, chemical and mechanical engineering, lifecycle cost and emissions analysis, market research, sociology and anthropology, economics and business strategy, and policy and political analysis. The focus will be on understanding transitions toward a more sustainable transportation system. The evolving transportation system will not rely on one solution (such as hydrogen and fuel cells). The intended sole-source contractor, ITS-Davis, will take a systems view of the emergence of multiple technologies, gaining insight into transition scenarios and will consider both near-term and long-term technologies to analyze possible paths forward. Key issues include understanding how one technology path can enable another and how multiple technologies can be either synergistic or competitive. The contractor will engage industry, government and other partners in developing this alternative vehicle and fuel evaluation and disseminate all research findings in the form of studies, reports and modeling analyses. This goal is to be achieved in a variety of ways, including: The preparation and distribution of publications and applicable documents on key issues and topics; and an ongoing series of specially designed workshops that will engage and educate program members, public officials, and key agency leaders on the issues of transition to an alternative fuel-based transportation system. Four main transportation energy categories will be investigated, and interdisciplinary projects will study the differences between specific energy-vehicle pathways. All research projects will be conducted in parallel and remain active throughout the program. All research among energy categories will be coordinated with continuous feedback among them. The following are the energy categories to be investigated: HYDROGEN. Research conducted under the Hydrogen Pathways Program will continue, exploring new areas such as hydrogen/electricity systems, conducting regional transition case studies, understanding the impact of alternative policies, and enhancing key hydrogen pathways models for infrastructure development strategies. BIOFUELS. This track will build upon the contractor’s current work within the California Biomass Collaborative and the considerable agricultural and biological expertise of the university. The biofuels track will include analysis of various biorefinery production systems, infrastructure strategies, environmental & land-use impacts, & vehicle analysis. ELECTRICITY. Electricity production methods, total grid capacity, and time-of-day charging impacts on the utility sector will be studied. Additionally, research will be conducted on consumer behavior and preferences for electric drive attributes, including all-electric range and charging time. FOSSIL FUELS. This track includes both cases where petroleum-based fuels continue to dominate transportation energy, and the evolution of fuels produced from other fossil fuel resources, including tar sands, oil shale, and coal with carbon sequestration. Expanded use of diesel fuel will also be studied. STEPS Comparative Research Methods: Making consistent comparative analyses among different energy and vehicle pathways is a major analytic task. This becomes increasingly challenging when accounting for factors such as market dynamics (including consumer choices and strategic behavior of firms), technological change, geographic location, and infrastructure interactions. To deal with these complexities, the STEPS program will involve three types of comparative analysis: Transition Analysis - Study the dynamics of long-term transitions in the transportation sector with the intent of understanding how transitions might occur with minimal private sector investment risk and maximum public benefits; Systems Integration - Conduct comparative analyses that involve integration of technologies into complete systems, incorporating geography, resource availability, market dynamics, public policy, and interactions with other parts of the energy system; and, Comparison Metrics - Generate data and enhance the models to facilitate self-consistent metrics for comparing costs, emissions, energy use, and vehicle performance. These analyses will be applied within each of the four tracks and for comparisons between tracks as appropriate. Although it is believed that ITS-DAVIS is the only organization capable of performing this intended sole-source project at the very high level of quality indispensable to RITA, any interested organization (other than ITS-DAVIS) that believes that it is capable of performing this project must submit a Statement of Qualifications to DOT’s cognizant contracting officer, Mr. James Mowery, not later than 4:15 PM Eastern Time, September 11, 2009.
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