The U.S. General Services Administration, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Office (BTO), is issuing a Request for Information (RFI) for technologies that optimize buildings for efficiency, health, and fossil-fuel-free operations. BTO’s stakeholders are encouraged to submit responses to this RFI.
Proposed technologies should be at the edge of commercialization and ready for validation, primarily within large, GSA-affiliated commercial facilities or DOE’s Better Buildings partner sites. Responses will be evaluated and considered for inclusion in GSA’s Green Proving Ground (GPG) program (for federally-owned facilities) and/or DOE-facilitated voluntary partnership programs (for privately-owned facilities). Any selected technologies must be gifted to GSA for in-facility validation or arranged independently at Better Building partner sites. The GPG program tests technologies in GSA owned commercial buildings. DOE intends to target other technology testbeds at small commercial facilities and traditionally underserved sectors of commercial buildings.
This year's RFI outlines five topic areas that emphasize innovative, emerging, and sustainable technologies that advance the decarbonization of commercial buildings. Proposed technologies should support:
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Deep Energy Retrofits - Improve the energy efficiency and reduce the carbon footprint of an existing building by implementing a comprehensive program of energy conservation measures (ECMs).
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All-Electric Buildings and All-Electric Vehicle Fleets - Eliminate the use of fossil fuels in building and vehicle fleet operations.
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Net-Zero Operations - Operate without fossil-fuel equipment through a combination of onsite renewables and offsite carbon-free electricity.
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Healthy and Resilient Buildings - Enhance occupant comfort and building health.
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Building Commissioning and Control - Enable more efficient building control with a focus on retro- and continuous-commissioning.
Novel financing approaches and/or business models to accelerate the uptake of low-carbon technologies are encouraged and may be integrated into responses to this RFI to streamline and accelerate deployment of the technology or solution.
How to Apply
The RFI will be open for submissions until Friday, December 8th, 2023 at 11:59 pm ET. Responses to this RFI may be submitted by a single vendor or by a team. Submissions by a single vendor must include all capabilities required to deliver the proposed solution. Parties interested in submitting an application can review the RFI on sam.gov, available directly at Solicitation #FY24RFI101623. Please direct inquiries regarding the RFI to gpg@gsa.gov. Members of the media should email questions to press@gsa.gov.
An informational webinar will be held on November 9th from 1:00-2:00 pm ET to review the FY 2024 GPG RFI process and topics. To learn more, visit the GPG website, and sign up to attend the webinar on the registration page.
Read more about this RFI and the Green Proving Ground program on the GSA press release.
About the GPG Program and EERE
The Green Proving Ground program enables GSA to make sound investment decisions in next-generation building technologies based on their real-world performance. Technologies selected for participation in the GPG program will be piloted in one or more federal buildings for measurement and verification by third-party evaluators. Tested technologies must be gifted to the federal government as outlined in 40 U.S.C. 3175. www.gsa.gov/gpg.
The mission of DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is to accelerate the research, development, demonstration, and deployment of technologies and solutions to equitably transition America to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions economy-wide by no later than 2050, and ensure the clean energy economy benefits all Americans, creating good paying jobs for the American people—especially workers and communities impacted by the energy transition and those historically underserved by the energy system and overburdened by pollution. For more information on EERE, please visit buildenergy.gov/eere/office-energy-efficiency-renewable-energy
