SPECIAL NOTICE
R -- U. C. Davis Sustainable Transportation Energy Pathways Program (STEPS)
- Notice Date
- 8/23/2010
- 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
- DTOS59-10-R-00313
- Archive Date
- 3/31/2011
- Point of Contact
- James H Mowery III, Phone: 202-366-4959
- E-Mail Address
-
james.mowery@dot.gov
(james.mowery@dot.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- On a SOLE-SOURCE basis, the U. S. Department of Transportation (DOT) plans to award a SOLE-SOURCE Purchase Order or Delivery Order or Contract to The Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Davis (ITS-DAVIS), sometimes hereinafter referred to as UCD, for the work described below. The U.S. Department of Transportation's Research and Innovation Technology Administration (RITA), intends to award the subject contract, a sole source basis, to The Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Davis (ITS-DAVIS), in accordance with FAR 6.302-1, only one responsible source, and no other type of services will satisfy agency requirements. This proposed action is for supplies/services for which the Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source under statutory authority 41 U.S.C.253(c)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1. The Government hopes to award a Firm Fixed Price contract, to ITS-DAVIS, for Studies, Reports and Modeling Analysis to be conducted under the Sustainable Transportation Energy Pathways (STEPS), being performed by the University of California at Davis (UCD), Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS). Statement of Work: Background: Sustainable Transportation Energy Pathways (STEPS), through a 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. (UCD is uniquely positioned for this project, through its partnership with organizations, which include major energy companies, automotive companies and Government agencies including RITA. Based on experience with STEPS and its work products, the DOT Alternative Working Group recommended continuation of the working relationship with this program. No entity other than UCD offers RITA's Office of Research Development and Technology the ability to reach such a highly specialized audience and perform such unbiased, relevant research in-line with the program goals. Providing access to this audience affords the Alternative Fuels and Hydrogen Program the ability to carry out its objectives in a targeted, cost-efficient manner.) Scope of Work (Pooled Fund Study): The contractor 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 contractor 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 intended contract will involve the following fuel tracks: 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. Deliverables: The contractor will issue publications and reports each year to all participants on the progress of the ongoing studies. The U.S. DOT/RITA will have the opportunity to provide feedback on draft reports. Contractor shall provide quarterly report/newsletters to U.S. DOT/RITA highlighting the current research projects. Refer to the reporting section below. The contractor will conduct at least one high-level, invitation-only conference annually to provide a review of the research outputs from the program. The conference will be exclusively for participants, invited technical experts and senior Government and public interest organization leaders. Contractor will supply conference materials to the U.S. DOT/RITA electronically as well as an annual compilation of contract activities on a CD. U.S. DOT/RITA will be allocated a seat on the contractor's STEPS Advisory Board that will meet to review the status of the ongoing studies annually. At least one special public process event will be held. The event(s) may include tutorial workshops for public agency leaders and staff, policy issue forums, and information gathering sessions requested by public agencies. The materials from each conference will be distributed to all program members via the program website and an annual compilation CD. Reporting : On a quarterly basis, RITA's Office of Research Development and Technology will be provided with all materials generated under the contract including publications, meeting notices, agendas, meeting minutes of the above deliverable events, presentations from the events, reports, etc. (in electronic formats including Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint), highlighting current research projects and developments within the STEPS program. A final review of the year's research will be issued at the end of each calendar year by electronic format (MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint). Period of Performance: The period of performance for this procurement will be 14 months from date of award or through December 31, 2011, whichever is later. The Contractor shall provide the necessary personnel, services, equipment and materials to perform the CLINS in accordance with the above SOW in the amount of $60,000. No other such venue, and no contractor other than ITS-DAVIS (UCD), offers RITA's Office of Research Development and Technology the ability to reach such a highly specialized audience and perform such unbiased, relevant research in-line with the programs goals. Providing access to this audience affords the Alternative Fuels and Hydrogen Program the ability to carry out its objectives in a targeted, cost-efficient manner. Notwithstanding the overwhelming sole-source qualifications thought to be possessed by ITS-DAVIS (UCD), any organization OTHER THAN UCD that believes it is qualified to perform the above-described project at the high level of quality indispensable to RITA, may e-mail a Statement of Qualifications to Mr. James Mowery, at james.mowery@dot.gov, not later than 4:15 PM Eastern Daylight Time September 10, 2010.
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