High Voltage Power Supplies (HVPS) for Electronic Fish Barriers

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Chicago District, is issuing this sources sought synopsis as a means of conducting market research to identify parties having an interest in and the resources to support the requirement of six high voltage power supplies (HVPS) for Barriers IIA and IIB near Romeoville, Illinois. The intention is to procure this requirement on a competitive basis.*************BASED ON THE RESPONSES TO THIS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE/MARKET RESEARCH, THIS REQUIREMENT MAY BE SET-ASIDE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES (IN FULL OR IN PART) OR PROCURED THROUGH FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION, and multiple awards MAY be made. USACE is conducting market research to determine whether a small business set-aside is achievable under the newly restructured terms, or whether it will proceed under full and open competition with subcontracting opportunities. We recently solicited unrestricted but had a bid bust, so are restructuring our requirement with the elimination of storage requirements. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to companies regarding their submissions.*************DISCLAIMER*************THIS SOURCES SOUGHT IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) TO BE SUBMITTED. IT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A SOLICITATION AND SHALL NOT BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT. RESPONSES IN ANY FORM ARE NOT OFFERS AND THE GOVERNMENT IS UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO AWARD A CONTRACT AS A RESULT OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. NO FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE TO PAY FOR PREPARATION OF RESPONSES TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. ANY INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY RESPONDENTS TO THIS TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION IS STRICTLY VOLUNTARY. RESPPONSES WILL NOT BE RETURNED TO THE RESPONDER. NOT RESPONDING TO THIS NOTICE DOES NOT PRECLUDE PARTICIPATION IN ANY FUTURE REQUEST FOR QUOTE (RFQ) OR INVITATION FOR BID (IFB) OR RFP, IF ANY ISSUED. IF A SOLICITATION IS RELEASED, IT WILL BE SYNOPSIZED ON THE GOVERNMENT-WIDE POINT OF ENTRY (GPE). IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF POTENTIAL OFFERORS TO MONITOR THE GPE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMMATION PERTAINING TO THIS REQUIREMENT.*************PROGRAM BACKGROUND: The HPVS support Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal Electric Dispersal Barrier System, barriers IIA and IIB. These Electric Dispersal Barriers protect the Great Lakes from the invasive species.*************REQUIRED CAPABILITIES*************The Contractor shall provide engineering and site verification; design submittals; fabrication; factory acceptance testing (FAT); operator and maintenance training during or immediately after FAT; technical documentation; packaging, transportation, delivery and unloading; and warranty coverage services in support of the areas specified in Program Background (above). Further details: a) Four 1.5 megawatt (MW) high voltage power supplies for Pulser 1 and Pulser 2 at Barriers IIA and IIB. and b) Two 350 kilowatt (kW) high voltage power supplies for Pulser 3 at Barriers IIA and IIB.*************Technical capability overview*************The replacement equipment will support existing pulse generating units and capacitor banks serving the electric dispersal barriers. The following summarizes the anticipated requirement for market research; it is not a complete fabrication specification.*************Input power: 480 volts AC, three-phase, 60 hertz.*************Output ratings: each 1.5 MW unit to provide 2,000 volts DC at 750 amperes and 2,200 volts DC at approximately 682 amperes, subject to its 1.5 MW continuous power limit. Each 350 kW unit to provide up to 1,000 volts DC at 350 amperes.*************Power conversion: copper-wound transformers and a 24-pulse silicon controlled rectifier (SCR) configuration, or an equivalent approach for Government consideration that achieves the required performance and harmonic reduction.*************Integration: compatibility with existing equipment spaces, access routes, electrical connections, cooling systems, and the Pulse Generating Control System. Identify any necessary changes to existing equipment or interfaces rather than assuming they are included in this procurement.*************Controls and safety: local and remote monitoring, communications, alarms, protective devices, and interlocks compatible with facility requirements. Existing interfaces include DeviceNet; the draft SOW also addresses Modbus TCP/IP.*************Operating conditions: continuous barrier service, compatibility with the pulsed load and existing capacitor banks, and the draft SOW ambient range of 0 to 50 degrees Celsius and up to 95 percent non-condensing relative humidity.*************Cooling and handling: demonstrate feasible heat rejection within available site cooling capacity and identify equipment dimensions, weights, lifting provisions, shipping configuration, and delivery/unloading needs. Early design submittals would establish dimensions, weights, anchorage, power and control connections, communications, cooling requirements, and heat loads in sufficient detail for USACE to develop the separate installation design while fabrication proceeds. Final deliverables would include drawings of the equipment as fabricated, Operation and Maintenance manuals, test reports, training materials, and storage/preservation instructions.***************************************If your organization has the potential capacity to perform this requirement, please provide the following information*************1) Organization name, address, email address, UEI and cage code, Web site address, telephone number, and size and type of ownership for the organization, and *************2) Tailored capability statements addressing the particulars of this effort, with appropriate documentation supporting claims of organizational and staff capability. If significant subcontracting or teaming is anticipated in order to deliver technical capability, organizations should address the administrative and management structure of such arrangements. Submit concise responses in the same organized format as below. Identify assumptions and distinguish firm capabilities from proposed alternatives. Partial responses from manufacturers or prospective subcontractors are welcome; clearly identify which portions your firm can support.**************************I. Interest and role Would your firm pursue this revised requirement as a prime contractor, manufacturer supplying a prime, distributor/integrator, or team member? Identify the intended manufacturer and major work allocations, if known. Explain any barriers to submitting an offer, including whether your response depends on finding a teaming partner.*************II. Relevant capability Provide up to three examples of comparable industrial HVPS or rectifier projects, including power/voltage ratings, application, approximate completion date, and your role. Describe experience with pulsed loads, copper-wound transformers, harmonic reduction, controls integration, and liquid cooling. *************III. Technical feasibility Identify requirements that would prevent participation, materially increase cost or lead time, or require an exception. Address the 24-pulse approach or proposed equivalent, output ratings, ambient conditions, cooling capacity and water quality, controls/protocol compatibility, physical fit, and any facility modifications. Describe the specific clarification or performance-based alternative recommended.*************Factory testing and training Describe available test facilities and a practical FAT approach for both ratings. Manufacturing and FAT would occur at the contractor/manufacturer facility. Distinguish full-power tests from separate full-voltage/full-current tests or simulations, and identify limitations in reproducing the installed pulsed load. Recommend measurable acceptance criteria and the equipment or site data needed. Confirm ability to train Government personnel during or immediately after FAT.*************IV. Schedule and capacity Provide a realistic schedule from award through design approval, long-lead procurement, fabrication, FAT, documentation, and delivery of all six units. State whether approximately 12 months is achievable, required Government review durations, current capacity constraints, and whether staggered deliveries would help.*************V. Payment milestones: USACE is considering an approximately 12-month period from award through delivery, subject to validation through market research. The proposed payment milestones are 25 percent upon preliminary design approval, 25 percent following successful FAT for all six units, and 50 percent upon delivery, unloading, Government receipt, and completion of required deliverables. Any financing, payment, inspection, and acceptance provisions will be established by the Contracting Officer in the solicitation. Would the proposed 25/25/50 payment structure support participation? If not, suggest practical milestones or financing arrangements, with approximate percentages and a brief explanation. Identify whether payment only after FAT of all six units creates a material cash-flow constraint. Feedback does not constitute Government approval of a payment or financing arrangement.*************VI. Warranty and Government storage. USACE contemplates a base warranty of at least one year beginning at Government receipt of the delivered equipment, with a separately priced extended-warranty option. The base warranty would not be deferred until future installation or commissioning. Industry feedback is requested on feasibility, standard terms, storage conditions, and the scope and availability of extended coverage. Describe standard warranty commencement, duration, coverage, service response, exclusions, and extended-warranty options. Address feasibility of one year from Government receipt, including equipment stored before installation. Identify preservation, inspection, power, environmental, and recommissioning requirements to maintain coverage and any residual risks.*************VII. Separate future installation Confirm whether removing long-term contractor storage and future installation/commissioning support improves willingness to bid. Identify the technical data and rights or licenses needed for a qualified third party to install and maintain the equipment. Describe availability and customary ordering arrangements for separately acquired future OEM support without requiring a commitment under this procurement.***************************************Additional feedback and company information: *************Competition and acquisition terms Recommend contract packaging, experience requirements, inspection/acceptance terms, or other provisions needed to encourage competition. Identify commercial products or customary commercial practices that could satisfy the requirement. *************Delivery and information needs Identify shipping/unloading constraints and the drawings, site measurements, load profiles, cooling data, controls information, or other Government-furnished information needed to assess feasibility and prepare an offer. State whether an industry discussion or site visit would materially assist. Do not submit a detailed design or binding price proposal.*************USEPA Recovered Materials: Can your firm incorporate recycled content in packaging, crating, or structural enclosures?*************USDA BioPreferred: What is the commercial feasibility of utilizing USDA-certified biobased dielectric fluids, transformer cooling oils, or biobased protective coatings?*************Safety Compliance: Confirm ability to comply with safety standards for high-voltage testing under USACE EM 385-1-1 and NFPA 70E.**************************The Government will evaluate market information to ascertain potential market capacity to: 1) provide the requirement consistent, in scope and scale, with those described in this notice and otherwise anticipated; 2) secure and apply the full range of corporate financial, human capital, and technical resources required to successfully perform similar requirements; and 3) implement a successful project management plan that includes: compliance with tight program schedules; cost containment; meeting and tracking performance; hiring and retention of key personnel and risk mitigation **************************Interested parties are requested to submit a capabilities statement of no more than eight (8) pages in length in Times New Roman font of not less than 10 pitch. Your response to this Sources Sought, including any capabilities statement, shall be electronically in either searchable Microsoft Word or Portable Document Format (PDF), Use the subject line (Sources Sought Response P2 569570 Barrier IIA and IIB HVPS). The deadline for response to this request is no later than 2 pm, Central Time, 4 November 2026. All responses under this Sources Sought Notice must be e-mailed to Points of contact, Kyle Smith (Kyle.D.Smith@usace.army.mil) and Sara King (Sara.T.KIng@usace.army.mil)*************This documentation must address at a minimum the following items:*************1.) What type of work has your company performed in the past in support of the same or similar requirement?*************2.) Can or has your company managed a task of this nature? If so, please provide details.*************3.) Can or has your company managed a team of subcontractors before? If so, provide details, this will assist us in determining subcontracting goals.*************4.) What specific technical skills does your company possess which ensure capability to perform the tasks?*************5.) Provide a statement including current small/large business status and company profile to include number of employees, annual revenue history, office locations, UEI number, etc. The applicable NAICS code for this requirement is 335999 All Other Miscellaneous Electrical Equipment and Component Manufacturing (Size Standard: 600 Employees) or comply with the non-manufacturer rule. The Product Service Code is 6130 Converters, Electrical, Nonrotating. Businesses of all sizes are encouraged to respond; however, each respondent must clearly identify their business size in their capabilities statement. *************6.) Respondents to this notice also must indicate whether they qualify as a Small, Small Disadvantaged, Women-Owned, HUBZone, or Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Concern.*************The estimated period of performance consists of one year manufacture and deliver, plus extended warranty options. Specifics regarding the number of option periods will be provided in the solicitation.*************The contract type is anticipated to be Firm-Fixed Price. *************All data received in response to this Sources Sought that is marked or designated as corporate or proprietary will be fully protected from any release outside the Government. The Government is not committed nor obligated to pay for the information provided, and no basis for claims against the Government shall arise as a result of a response to this Sources Sought.