FAQs

Answers to your Frequently Asked Questions ("FAQs") are posted on this page. To ask a question, please use our automated form. FAQs will be posted every Wednesday. FAQs will be posted daily during the week prior to the deadline for submitting Pricing Proposals and Qualification Materials.”

Evaluation of Proposals

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FAQ-137:
We submitted a bid in the June 2010 solicitation. When will we learn whether our bid was accepted?

The next scheduled Board meeting is on August 4, 2010. We expect the Board to consider the results of the June Solicitation at that meeting. Bidders will receive a notification regarding the status of their bids shortly after the Board renders a decision.

07/20/2010 in Evaluation of Proposals
FAQ-136:
What did the April 28, 2010 Board Order approving the results of the March 2010 Solicitation determine regarding the re-submission of projects that had previously received an award?

The April 28, 2010 Board Order approving the results of the third Solicitation can be found on the Documents page of the web site.

The Board found that two projects should not receive an award in the March Solicitation due to non-compliance with the RFP Rules. The Board noted that:
- The bidder failed to sign the SREC PSA within 5 days of the EDC's notice;
- The bidder resubmitted the same projects at a higher bid price, in breach of the requirement to keep bid prices open for a period of 120 days before submitting an additional price offer.
The Board rejected the two projects and provided the choice for the bidder to sign the SREC PSA with the price terms awarded by the Board for those projects in the December solicitation or to re-submit the two projects in a future solicitation round.

The Board also ordered that an additional provision be included in the RFP to specify the circumstances under which a project that receives an award may participate in a future solicitation at a higher price. In compliance with the Order, the RFP now includes provisions specifically addressing the circumstance of a project that wins an award in a solicitation, does not proceed to contract, and is resubmitted in a subsequent solicitation. In that case:
- a Pricing Proposal for the same Project may be re-submitted at the same or at a lower price; and
- a Pricing Proposal for the same Project may be re-submitted at a higher price, but only if both of the following conditions are met: (a) In the solicitation in which it first received an award, the Owner of the Project provided the cash deposit for the Project within the time frame required; and (b) the time between the submission of a Pricing Proposal that resulted in an award and the submission of a subsequent Pricing Proposal is no less than six (6) months.
A Project is the "same" Project as a Project that previously received an award if the Projects are in the same location and have the same NJCEP Application Number.

07/06/2010 in Evaluation of Proposals
FAQ-120:
If a bid is rejected in one solicitation because its pricing is not competitive or because the planned quantity was met, can the solar energy system owner resubmit a bid in the next solicitation?

If a project does not receive an award in a given solicitation, a Proposal for the same project may be submitted in a future solicitation, as long as it continues to meet the Program requirements. For example, if the project became interconnected, it would no longer be eligible for the Program.

06/09/2010 in Evaluation of Proposals
FAQ-118:
The New Jersey Clean Energy Program (“NJCEP”) reports that the rebate budget has been exhausted for this funding cycle. Will the Solicitation Manager take into account the lost cash incentive revenue when determining the competitiveness of bids?

We understand that the New Jersey Clean Energy Program's budget allocation has affected the availability of rebates and we understand that you are pointing out that the unavailability of cash incentives may impact bid levels.

As you may know, the Solicitation Manager makes a determination of the competitiveness of bids as part of the evaluation process of the SREC-Based Financing Program ("Program"). Bids are evaluated on a completely anonymous basis. The evaluation and the determination of competitiveness are confidential. The Stipulation approved by the Board of Public Utilities ("Board") contains important details regarding the recommendation by the Solicitation Manager of whether the prices submitted are competitive. The Stipulation states, with respect to the evaluation of the competitiveness of the bids, that the Solicitation Manager receives input from the EDCs, Staff and Rate Counsel on a cap and that this cap may consider the lowest SREC price bid, the SACP, and the distribution of SREC prices for all projects submitted. Other factors can be considered in the determination of the cap. The Solicitation Manager submits its recommendations to the Board and the Board determines the awards under the Program.

06/09/2010 in Evaluation of Proposals
FAQ-117:
What are the discount rates for each EDC that are used in computing the Net Present Value used in ranking the bids?

The discount rates are set forth in the Stipulations, which can be found on the Documents page of the Web site. For the JCP&L and ACE discount rates of 6.87% and 6.66%, respectively, please see Section 7.c of the ACE-JCP&L Stipulation (the file entitled “ACE-JCP&L Final Stipulation (3/13/2009)”). For the RECO discount rate of 7.68%, please see Section 7.c of the RECO Stipulation (the file entitled “RECO Final Stipulation (7/24/2009)”).

06/04/2010 in Evaluation of Proposals
FAQ-110:
Can you please provide us information on the any special treatment afforded to smaller projects (50 kW or below) to fulfill JCP&L’s "aspirational goal" to award 25% of its contracts to smaller projects?

For JCP&L, the Board has established an aspirational goal that approximately 25% of the Projects be from the smaller segment (less than or equal to 50 KW). This aspirational goal may or may not be met in a particular solicitation. The Stipulation and Order by the Board do not mandate specific actions if the aspirational goal is not met. Rather, the Stipulation establishes a process by which the Solicitation Manager forms its recommendations and by which the Board renders a decision on the awards of each solicitation.

This process is the following. The Solicitation Manager first presents preliminary recommendations to the Parties (Board Staff, Rate Counsel, and the EDCs). The recommendations of the Solicitation Manager regarding the awards to be made in a solicitation include: (a) the competitiveness of the process, (b) the quantities to be included in future solicitations, and (c) any special treatment of the small project segment relative to the Board's aspirational goal. The Parties submit their input on these recommendations to the Solicitation Manager. The Solicitation Manager considers the input from the Parties and develops its final recommendations. The Solicitation Manager presents its final recommendations to the Board in a confidential report. Staff presents the Solicitation Manager’s recommendations to the Board. The Board renders a decision on the awards in a given solicitation and the quantities to be included in future solicitations.

The evaluation procedure favors Projects from the smaller segment in the following respect. If there is a tie for the last accepted Project in the evaluation procedure, the Solicitation Manager chooses a Project in the smaller segment if the aspirational goal is not already met.

06/04/2010 in Evaluation of Proposals
FAQ-107:
If we submit a bid in advance of the deadline, can we then change our bid price if we resubmit the Pricing Proposal prior to the deadline?

Yes. Please see Section 3.2.9 of the RFP Rules, which states, "A Bid Form submitted by a Proponent for a Project supersedes any previously submitted Bid Forms submitted by that Proponent for that Project. The Solicitation Manager evaluates only the last Bid Form for a Project submitted before the deadline that is complete and consistent with the requirements of Section 3.1." Thus you may change your bid amount for a Project by resubmitting a complete and consistent Bid Form with the new amount before the deadline.

06/04/2010 in Evaluation of Proposals
FAQ-105:
The Solicitation Manager makes recommendations to the Board regarding any special treatment or the small project segment relative to the Board’s aspirational goal. What is JCP&L’s aspirational goal and how does it affect the evaluation of bids?

For JCP&L, the Board has established an aspirational goal that approximately 25% of the Projects be from the smaller segment (less than or equal to 50 kW). This aspirational goal may or may not be met in a particular solicitation. The Stipulation and Order by the Board do not mandate specific actions if the aspirational goal is not met. Rather, the Stipulation establishes a process by which the Solicitation Manager forms its recommendations and by which the Board renders a decision on the awards of each solicitation.

This process is the following. The Solicitation Manager first presents preliminary recommendations to the Parties (Board Staff, Rate Counsel, and the EDCs). The recommendations of the Solicitation Manager regarding the awards to be made in a solicitation include: (a) the competitiveness of the process, (b) the quantities to be included in future solicitations; and (c) any special treatment of the small project segment relative to the Board's aspirational goal. The Parties submit their input on these recommendations to the Solicitation Manager. The Solicitation Manager considers the input from the Parties and develops its final recommendations. The Solicitation Manager presents its final recommendations to the Board in a confidential report. Staff presents the Solicitation Manager’s recommendations to the Board. The Board renders a decision on the awards in a given solicitation and the quantities to be included in future solicitations.

The evaluation procedure favors Projects from the smaller segment in the following respect. If there is a tie for the last accepted Project in the evaluation procedure, the Solicitation Manager chooses a Project in the smaller segment if the aspirational goal is not already met.

03/01/2010 in Evaluation of Proposals
FAQ-98:
How does the Solicitation Manager determine whether a bid is competitive?

The determination of the competitiveness of bids is part of the evaluation process of the SREC-Based Financing Program ("Program") and is confidential. However, the Stipulation approved by the Board of Public Utilities ("Board") contains important details regarding the recommendation by the Solicitation Manager of whether the prices submitted are competitive. The Stipulation states, with respect to the evaluation of the competitiveness of the bids, that the Solicitation Manager receives input from the EDCs, Staff and Rate Counsel on a cap and that this cap will consider, among other things, the lowest SREC price bid, the SACP, and the distribution of SREC prices for all projects submitted. The Solicitation Manager submits its recommendations to the Board and the Board determines the awards under the Program.

Please see section 7 and section 12 of the Stipulation, which describe this process in more detail. The Stipulation can be found on the Documents page of our web site, under the heading “Documents from the NJ CEP - Utility Financing Programs page”.

02/26/2010 in Evaluation of Proposals
FAQ-93:
Are there specific targets for residential projects?

There are no specific targets for residential projects. However, the Program recognizes two (2) segments based on the size of the Projects. The first and smaller segment will include Projects less than or equal to 50 kW. The Board has established an aspirational goal that approximately 25% of the Projects be from the smaller segment for ACE and JCP&L. The aspirational goal for RECO is 50%. If there is a tie for the last accepted Project, the Solicitation Manager chooses a Project in the smaller segment if the aspirational goal is not met. The Solicitation Manager may also recommend to the Board special treatment of Projects in the smaller segment to meet the aspirational goal.

02/26/2010 in Evaluation of Proposals

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