Utility Privatization

As part of an ongoing Department of Defense (“DoD”) effort to increase its energy efficiency,  late last month the U.S. Army committed to develop its largest renewable energy project to date — a 65MW  wind and solar  project at Fort Hood.  This ambitious project will need to comply with the latest DoD rules regarding sourcing requirements for photovoltaic (“PV”) devices.  We previously analyzed the proposed rule issued by DoD in May 2015 that placed stricter sourcing requirements on PV devices.  Toward the end of last year, DoD issued a final rule implementing the requirements of the proposed rule with relatively minimal, but still notable, changes.  The solicitation for the Fort Hood project was amended to add the updated DFARS clause implementing this final rule.  The final rule tightens the sourcing restrictions for PV devices and may raise some compliance challenges for contractors.
Continue Reading Strict DoD Sourcing Requirements for PV Devices

Last week the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Energy issued a statement on DLA’s website about its plan to “increase the productivity, efficiency and effectiveness of [the] Air Force’s utility services contracts” – a plan that dovetails with the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Better Buying Power 3.0 initiative (BBP 3.0).  This should be good news for utility service providers seeking opportunities in and currently performing under the Air Force’s (and the Army’s) utility privatization program. 
Continue Reading DLA Energy Plans to Make Utility Privatizations More Effective and Streamlined